48 Hours
by lizardmm
Summary: Faith offers Angel a challenge he can't refuse. She has 48 hours to seduce Buffy. If she fails, Faith must turn herself in for the murder of Allan Finch. If she succeeds, she wins her freedom. But what happens when seduction turns to love? S3, Bad Girls
1. Chapter 1

**48 Hours – Part 1**

**Season 3**

**NC-17**

"Let's play a little game, Angel."

A smile crept across the dark brunette's bruised face. Angel's eyes narrowed as he glanced over at the bound woman. "No more games, Faith. If you want to talk about what happened, that's what I'm here for. Otherwise, let's not."

Faith's dark red lips formed an easy pout. "You don't wanna hear my proposition, fang-boy?"

Angel slowly crossed the length of the room and crouched in front of Faith whose hands were chained above her lithe body. "Faith," he quietly started, "I've killed before. I know what it's like to take a human life…the power…the darkness."

"Your precious Buffy was there, too, ya know," Faith spat out, violently jangling the metal that chained her to the wall. "But you didn't knock her in the face with a baseball bat. I don't see her tied up here, Angel… Unless you've got her bound up in another room for fun and games?"

Angel frowned and looked deep into Faith's heavily guarded eyes. "We're here to help you, Faith. You're not alone in this."

"But I alone _am_ going to have to face the consequences, huh?" Faith's eyes flashed with anger while Angel's face showed little emotion as he stared hard into her rage. Faith finally sat quietly, not looking up at the brooding vampire. "What about my proposition?" she mumbled.

Angel stood up from his crouched position and sighed. "Fine, Faith. What is it?"

"Well…nobody knows that I'm here, right?" Angel nodded tentatively, looking at her. "And you and Buffy can't…you know…" Faith smiled suggestively and writhed a little on the ground, while Angel's frown and brow deepened in recognition.

"Faith, you know that I'm with Buffy. I would never cheat on her, even though we can't…because of my soul. Besides. This isn't about sex. This is about saving you."

"Saving me has everything to do with sex."

Angel looked frustrated and confused. "What does that mean?"

"Let me spell it out for you, Angel. I want to play one last little game before I turn myself into the police for what happened. But if I'm going to sacrifice my freedom, I want some high stakes on your end, as well."

"Fine. I'm listening…"

"So you and the Great Blonde One can't do the nasty because you've got that pesky curse. Plus you probably wouldn't know what to do with yourself if you weren't sulking about it all day." Faith paused to smile brightly at the soul-ridden vamp.

"So here's the game. You give me 48 hours to play. And if I win, I get to skip town without the Scoobies ever knowing. And if I lose, then I turn myself into the police for what happened with that little weasel of a deputy mayor."

"And what's this game, Faith?"

"I want to show you how much you being in Sunnybore and having a soul is hurting your little blonde non-lover. Give me 2 days and I'll show you that even Buffy Summers is itching for a little 'uh.'"

Angel scowled. "Nice sound effects, Faith. And how exactly do you propose to prove that?"

"It's actually very simple. I'm going…to…fuck…your…girlfriend."

Angel's eyes widened in surprise. "You think Buffy is going to let you…fu-…fu…"

"Fuck. That's the word of the day, Angel. And not _only_ is Buffy going to let me into her prissy panties, but she's going to enjoy it so much, she'll want to repay me the favor." Faith cocked her head and smiled a large toothy grin.

Angel's eyes narrowed and began to turn a sickly yellow color as his "game face" showed early signs of forming before being choked back. Angel raked his fingers through his tussled hair and cleared his throat in discomfort over the situation. Part of him boiled in anger that this cocky Slayer would suggest such a thing. After all, he had been Buffy's first…and only. But the demon within, the part of him that he worked to daily deny, tingled with anticipation at the thought of two such beautiful women together.

Angel coughed again to break-up the uncomfortable silence, while Faith's eyes bore into him, waiting for his answer. "So what's it going to be, Angel? Give me 48 hours, and I'm out of your heavily gelled hair, one way or another. Or, we sit here for an eternity with you wasting your non-breath over something I won't _ever_ feel guilty about."

"Hold out your hands," Angel answered gruffly, bringing a large metal key into sight. "You have 48 hours, starting at the top of the hour. It's almost 11pm. Your time will begin exactly at the hour. In order to confirm that you have succeeded, I will be following you –"

"But _not _interfering!" Faith interrupted.

Angel nodded solemnly. "Without interfering or getting involved with whatever you have planned. However, you _must _convince me that Buffy is under her own free will…that you haven't put a spell on her, and that she's not being forced to do something she doesn't want. I don't want to see her harmed in anyway. If I suspect anything such as this, you must immediately forfeit and turn yourself into the Sunnydale police."

The metal links fell from Faith's wrists and clanged to the ground. Faith didn't bother to rub the tender flesh because she thought it too cliché. "So we have a deal, then?"

"Deal."

Faith walked through the dark cemetery, the moonlight as her only lighted guide. _"God damn it,"_ she thought, jamming her hands deep into the pockets of her leather pants. _"Why the fuck did I make such an idiotic deal? There is _no way_ Miss Sunshine is gonna let me get between her thighs, let alone willingly spread her legs for me."_

Faith stopped abruptly in her tracks when her Slayer senses tingled. She spun on her heels, stake in hand, and nailed it into the heart of a newly unearthed vampire who had crept up behind her while she fumed. A smile formed on her lips as the vamp blasted into a cloud of dust around her.

"But it might be fun trying."

Faith entered the dimly lit Bronze, letting the feeling of power chords and thumping bass engulf her. She strode across the small venue, instinctively knowing where Buffy and the other Scoobies would be sitting. It wasn't just that she had her Slayer senses, but the group was just so damn predictable.

Faith walked up to the seated group. Xander, Willow and Oz sat on an overstuffed red couch, laughing at something Xander had said. Willow and Oz held hands, and Buffy sat on an adjacent love seat by herself, smiling and sipping some kind of fruity concoction from a plastic cup with a straw. Buffy wore a conveniently, slaying-incompatible skirt that showed off plenty of toned leg, complete with a pair of strappy sandals that Faith wouldn't be caught dead in. Her frilly top was modest enough, but showed just enough of Buffy's highly defined clavicle and just a hint of tanned cleavage to make any guy, and probably a few girls, look twice.

Faith stood, unnoticed, silently clenching and unclenching her fists, looking on at the happy group. _"In two days, I could be in prison for murder,"_ she fumed to herself.

Buffy suddenly looked up from her fruit drink, letting the straw fall into the cup with a plastic clank. "Faith! I didn't notice you!"

Faith looked down at the seated blonde. "Yeah…I guess I must have just missed you patrolling." Buffy blushed and looked suddenly uncomfortable. "I, ah, just stopped in for a refreshment." She pointed to the now-empty cup in her hand.

"_Or Angel told you to stay in tonight so he could play baseball with my head,"_ Faith thought, her eyes flashing.

The brunette sat down, sliding easily next to the blonde Slayer, her arm casually snaking around Buffy's shoulder and coming to a rest. "S'okay," Faith started, cheering up her tone quickly. "I got the baddies. No worries for tonight." Faith crossed her long, leather-clad legs, letting her thigh just barely touch Buffy's own.

Buffy silently wondered if Angel had found Faith, or perhaps worse…maybe Faith had found Angel. She cursed herself for allowing Angel to convince her to help capture her sister slayer. At least for another evening Faith would be free. "Oh…well…can I get you something? To make up for tonight?" Buffy nervously stammered, hoping that Faith wouldn't sense that anything was wrong.

A mischievous grin formed on Faith's harlot red lips. "Well, you know me…always hungry and horny after a good slay." She eyed the smaller Slayer up and down and pressed her thigh inconspicuously against Buffy's leg. "What ya got for me?"

Buffy stood up quickly, nearly jumping to her feet. "I'll get you a yogurt. Stay there," she commanded as she quickly scampered off to the bar area. "Or maybe a muffin…or a bagel…or…" Her voice trailed off as she wandered away.

Faith's eyes followed Buffy's movements as the blonde quickly moved to the other side of the Bronze to forage for food. Faith scanned the elder Slayer's body, and quietly murmured her approval.

"How many did you kill?"

Faith turned in her seat quickly to face the voice. "Huh?" she started, her eyes focusing on Willow's face. "How many did you kill? You know…vampires?" the redhead stammered in a hushed tone.

"Oh. I don't know. I don't really count when I fight. They're already dead when I get to them anyway," Faith responded noncommittally.

The dark Slayer didn't want to be left alone with the Scooby gang tonight. Their innocence and blind appraisal of Buffy was maddening. Faith stood abruptly and blurted out, "Sorry, I gotta….yea…" And she left the group behind.

Faith looked for a clock as she walked away from the bewildered friends. Almost midnight. "Damn," she muttered. "One hour gone and I'm nowhere near seducing Buffy. I've gotta crank it up a notch." Taking a deep breath, Faith strode confidently towards the bar, where she saw a glimpse of the blonde's back.

Faith pushed and maneuvered her way through the mixed Bronze crowd to get closer to the other Slayer. She could feel the predatory eyes of numerous men as they looked appreciatively at her disciplined female form. Normally, Faith would have lingered a little longer and perhaps brought one of them back to her motel for some midnight fun…get some and get gone…but tonight she had a different conquest to take care of. Her freedom depended on it.

Faith finally stood directly behind the blonde, and caught herself secretly breathing in the scent of Buffy's hair. It smelled surprisingly sweet despite the smoky atmosphere. "I changed my mind," Faith announced.

Buffy turned in surprise, her arms full of baked goods, to find herself face to face with the taller Slayer. "Huh?"

Faith released a low chuckle at the sight of Buffy, struggling to balance the pile of bagels, muffins, and scones in her two hands. Faith closed the distance between them, leaning in slightly. "I'm sorry you went to all that trouble, just for me." She let the words softly tumble off her tongue. Buffy looked down at the bakery items and then back up to Faith's face, noticing for the first time, the newly forming bruise splayed across her jaw line.

Faith cleared her throat to make sure the next phrases came out perfectly. "I'm not really all that hungry. I think I want to upgrade to horny."

Buffy's eyes widened and she stood helplessly, her hands full of food. Faith closed her eyes and placed a gentle but deep kiss on the blonde's lips. Buffy let out a smothered gurgle of surprise as she felt Faith's tongue slip past the blonde's unintentionally opened lips. The baked goods tumbled carelessly to the ground as Buffy's arms fell down to her sides. Faith ran her hands down the sides of Buffy's tanned body as she softly kissed her mouth, letting her fingers lightly brush down the smooth skin of the elder Slayer.

When Faith leaned back from the kiss, a bewildered Buffy suddenly noticed that the usually noisy club had slowly quieted as all eyes had turned toward the two women. She brought her right hand to her mouth and touched her now-tingling lips with the tips of her fingers, her features splayed with surprise. From their sofa seats, Willow and Xander gawked in amazement having just witnessed the Slayer kiss. Oz sat unchanged, apparently unaffected by the visual display of Sapphic emotion. Willow turned to Xander, horrified. "No! She can't. Can she?" Xander's mouth hung open, slack-jawed. "She just did," he responded.

Faith stood awkwardly before the elder blonde, her hands jammed into her pockets to keep from fidgeting too much. Buffy blushed deeply, looking even more uncomfortable than the taller girl did. She wasn't quite sure if she should slap the brunette for her boldness or run away in embarrassment. The moment passed however, and the club-goers continued with their chatter and the band struck up another booming dance number.

Faith's eyes softened and her face lost its usual edge. "Can we go…talk somewhere?" she pleaded. Buffy's brow furrowed in thought and she bit her bottom lip. She could still taste Faith's lip balm on her own mouth: vanilla. Buffy shivered slightly, thinking about the soft yet consuming kiss. A silent alarm went off inside her head_. Faith kissed me! In front of all these people! _

Buffy faced mixed feelings about leaving the Bronze with the dark Slayer. If she stayed, Faith might do something else to embarrass her in front of all those people…people with whom she went to high school. But if she left with her, would people think they left "together"? The blonde looked pained as the battle raged inside her head.

Faith's eyes searched Buffy's features for the answer. Sensing the elder girl's hesitancy, she growled quietly and her eyes turned from wounded to angry. "Never mind," she mumbled, and spun on her heels to storm out of the club. Buffy grabbed for the brunette as she moved to stalk out. She missed grabbing the meat of her arm and the tips of her fingers instead brushed against the smooth fabric of Faith's dark leather jacket. Buffy jumped slightly, feeling the electric shocks shoot through her slender digits as they slid down the material. Feeling the gentle touch, Faith whipped her head around, her face a mix of questions and rage, to again face Buffy.

"Wait for me out back. I'm just going to say goodnight to the gang," Buffy instructed, looking hard into Faith's flashing eyes. Faith grunted and nodded, again shoving her hands deep into the tight pockets of her leather pants. Buffy stood in her place as she watched Faith's smoldering form shove her way out of the club and out the back entrance.

Buffy took a deep breath, fully knowing the Scoobies had seen The Kiss. This wasn't going to be easy.

"So your place or mine, girlfriend?"

Buffy searched the darkened alley for the source of the voice. Faith sauntered out of the shadows, hands in the pockets of her leather jacket, a lit cigarette hanging precariously from her lips.

"I thought you just wanted to talk, Faith. Why couldn't we just find an all-night diner or something…"

Faith took a long, slow drag from her cigarette and watched the smoke rise into the night sky as she exhaled. "I wouldn't want Joyce to worry…it _is_ a school night, after all."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "My mom's out of town at one of her gallery conferences again. I don't exactly have a babysitter."

Faith took a final drag of her cigarette before letting it fall to the ground and stomping out the extinguishing embers with her heavy black boots. "Home alone, eh?" She licked her lips suggestively and her mouth formed a slow and easy grin.

Buffy grimaced, realizing her mistake. "Your place it is then."

The night air had quickly turned brisk since the two had left the Bronze and they worked their way across town to the dilapidated motel Faith called home. Buffy's thin top did nothing to protect her from the cool California night wind. Faith glanced sideways at her sister Slayer, noticing her thin, small hands rubbing up and down her own skinny arms in an attempt to produce some heat.

"_Girlfriend should eat a candy bar,"_ she wistfully thought. Both girls strode confidently through the empty streets with a few scattered street lamps their only guides. The two had patrolled the city enough times, however, to have made it across town in pure darkness. Although their body language exhibited confidence, each girl's thoughts were far more uneasy and unsure.

Upon reaching her motel room, Faith concentrated on not fumbling with her key, betraying her nervousness. After turning the lock, she opened the sticking door with a slight grunt and shoved with her shoulder. Her eyes quickly scanned the still-dark room for any incriminating evidence of late night lovers from the past week. Once satisfied that she was safe, she flipped on the harsh overhead light, spilling a sickly yellow glow over the room. "Home sweet home," she softly muttered.

Buffy followed the brunette into the newly illuminated room. She glanced around the room, her eyes falling on the empty pizza boxes, piles of rumpled clothing, and weaponry scattered around the room. Feeling her body go rigid with self-righteousness, she silently scolded herself for not having made more of an attempt to help the dark slayer earlier.

Faith spun to face the blonde, her arms spread out wide, her usual dimpled grin spread across her face. "So, B. See anything you like?"

Confusion shadowed Buffy's face. "I thought you wanted to talk, Faith?"

Faith shrugged noncommittally, "Nah. I just wanted to get you back to my room."

Buffy's small fists clenched in anger as she tried to sputter a biting reply. Faith laughed at the elder girl's visible anger and how easily she could push her over the edge. "Easy B," she breathed, "I just figured we haven't really spent any quality non-patrol time together lately. You know…not since –"

Buffy looked down at her stylish but affordable boots. "You need to explain that kiss," she said, almost a whisper.

Faith's grin grew wider and cockier. She held up a bottle of Jack Daniels that seemed to magically appear from a pile of clothes. "Drink?" Buffy looked worriedly at the full bottle, but nodded.

"Stay put. I've just gotta rinse out some glasses," Faith instructed. She motioned toward the bed, "Get comfortable if you want."

Buffy stood awkwardly in the center of the room, unsure of where to sit. A small table and a single chair sat in one corner of the room, but a pile of dirty laundry had swallowed any possible seating_. "Hm…there's…the floor…" _Buffy looked down to the stained carpet and wrinkled her nose_. "Or…the bed."_

Faith's bed, miraculously, was meticulously made. It was clear that she eschewed the standard thin motel comforter and starchy cotton sheets, having replaced them with her own bedding.

Buffy ran her fingertips along the soft quilted material of Faith's comforter. It was so uncharacteristically Faith and shockingly out of place in the seedy motel room. Buffy tested the bed, placing the palms of her hands on the squishy mattress. She was faintly aware of the sound of her own heartbeat in her ears as she sat down, facing the open bathroom door and waited for Faith.

Faith turned on the water facet and let the liquid wash over the glasses in her hands. She watched as water beads collected into larger pools on the clear glass and dripped into the porcelain sink. The water felt good on her shaky hands, constant and reassuring. She glanced at the watch on the toilet tank. A one-night stand had left it behind a while back, and Faith was not one to hunt down old flings to return it. The second hand ticked along, and Faith recognized that with each passing second, along went her freedom. It was nearly 1 AM; 2 hours down, 46 to go.

Faith audibly sighed. If she could just take her time…get Buffy drunk enough…seduce her…she could be free from the bet before the sun woke up. Too bad it was a school night. Faith wrinkled her forehead in thought. Sunrise…how was Angel going to keep tabs on her progress during the day? How could Angel know what was going on right now, in her motel room? She shook the thoughts from her head. No. That was Angel's logistical problem, not hers. Realizing she'd let the water continue to run and that a hot blonde awaited her in the next room, Faith snapped back to reality. She shook the glasses to get rid of the access water. No need to water down perfectly good alcohol, after all.

Faith strode out into the main room of her less-than-ideal digs, freshly rinsed glasses in hand. Buffy stood abruptly when Faith entered the room, almost embarrassed to have been caught sitting on the bed. Faith handed the empty glasses to the smaller blonde while she pulled a small end table into position so they could use it for a small cocktail table. The two girls stood, facing each other. "This is the life, isn't it, B? No Watchers, no mothers, no curfews. Just you, me and some JD." Faith's broad smile turned into a leer. The dark Slayer poured the golden liquid into their respective glasses and offered one to the blonde. Buffy took it with two hands and looked into the glass well as though it were a bottomless pit. When she finally looked up, her eyes met Faith's. Faith tilted her head to the side. "Cheers, B."

Raising her glass in the air, Faith took a quick swig of the amber liquid. Buffy followed suit, swallowing the alcohol down, feeling it burn the inside of her throat. Only a miracle kept her from choking and looking like a fool in front of Faith, who was obviously the more experienced drinker of the two Slayers. Buffy rested her glass on the tiny table and cleared her throat. "So umm…it's getting kind of late…"

Faith scowled. The alcohol was too slow. This wasn't going to get her in the Chosen One's pants. Time for Plan B…if only she'd thought ahead and _actually had_ a Plan B.

Faith set her glass on the tiny table next to Buffy's and suddenly grabbed the blonde slayer's hand with her own. "Ah, c'mon, B. It's not past your bedtime, is it? I mean…if it was…we could always have a sleepover." Faith winked, a grin splayed across her face, and she cocked her head toward the motel bed. "I mean…it's not the Four Seasons or nothing, but I've never heard complaints."

Buffy's hand suddenly felt hot in Faith's soft grasp. The brunette's hand felt so different than Angel's large and often clumsy and calloused touch. Angel was always cold to the touch, because…hello, dead. Faith's flesh, on the other hand, felt warm and alive and Buffy was becoming acutely aware of the tingles the simple hand-lock had created all over her body. Buffy looked down at their joined hands, noticing perhaps for the first time the polished but closely trimmed finger nails. Faith allowed her fingertips to softly brush against the palm of Buffy's hand, back and forth…seductive, but calming.

Buffy stumbled over her words. "No, it's really, um…that's nice of you to offer, but, I gotta…uh...you know, get back to my house. In case um…my mom calls, er something."

Faith's eyes sparkled with laughter and she winked at the bumbling blonde. "Your mom's gonna call at this hour? Man…Joyce _is_ a wild one." Faith's hold on Buffy's hand became tighter. "You must take after her, then, right?" Faith wetted her thick, lipsticked mouth with the tip of her tongue and stared deep into Buffy's eyes.

Buffy struggled to control her breathing and her now rapidly beating pulse. She felt wildly uncomfortable, yet uncontrollably turned on as she watched the brunette's face quickly transition from light-hearted to seductive.

Buffy's voice came out as a whisper as she stared deep into the younger slayer's flashing eyes. "It's late. I'm going home." Faith tried to not let her disappointment show. She gave Buffy a lopsided grin. "Alright, B. Suit yourself. Call me if you need some company, huh?" The darker girl stretched her arms above her head, "Imagine…all of this just a phone call away."

Buffy's eyes seemed to have a mind of their own as her glance strayed to the upward movement of the younger slayer's tank top and the hint of tanned, toned skin that appeared. Buffy mumbled her goodbye and tried not to knock over too many things as she hastily left the motel room.

Faith watched the door close behind the blonde slayer. She sat down heavily on the bed and sighed, her head falling into her hands. "I knew this wasn't going to be easy." The brunette glanced at the barely-touched bottle of Jack Daniels and contemplated drinking for the remaining 40-some hours.

Outside the motel, Angel smiled smugly.

"Giles!"

Buffy bounced into the library, full of sunshine and energy. A few students looked up at the blonde, their annoyance visible. Buffy stopped and clapped her hand over her mouth. "Sorry, I – um…"

Giles appeared in the doorway of his office. "Buffy." He looked and half smiled at the girl as he cleaned his glasses on his sweater. "I do wish you'd remember this is a library."

The blonde slayer blushed deeply. "I umm…just came to…get a book. Because I heard that, ah…libraries are places where they keep the books."

Giles nodded. "Here, in my office." Buffy walked past the librarian into his small, cluttered office and took a seat on a well-worn stuffed chair.

"So, to what do I owe this visit so early, Buffy?" Giles began.

Buffy stared at some of the old book-bindings on the shelves in his office while she played with her gum, distracted. "Oh! You know…just checking in. Reporting on last night."

"Oh, yes. Well then, anything to report?" the Englishman asked, interested. His features suddenly looked sad, however, remembering. "Wesley's not just here yet, but I'll be sure to pass that information along to him."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "You can't be serious about me reporting to _him_?"

Her former Watcher sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Well, until another situation comes along, I'm afraid that Wesley is now your connection to the Council."

Buffy stuck her bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout.

"Careful, B. Those lips are gonna get you in trouble."

Buffy swung her head around quickly towards the sound of the voice to see Faith standing in the doorframe of Giles' office. Her eyes looked tired under her thickly mascara-ed eyelashes, but they were the only feature that betrayed her fatigue.

"Oh, good. Faith. I'm glad you're here, too. Buffy was just about to tell me about last night's events." Giles gestured for the brunette to take a seat.

"Oh, she was, was she? I'm just in time for the show, then. This oughta be good." Faith slid gracefully into a chair and extended her long, leather bound legs so they were propped up against a bookshelf. Confusion spread over Giles face as he looked back and forth between the two slayers.

Buffy cleared her throat. "Well, I um…went to some cemeteries. Dusted some pretty unexceptional vamps. Uh...you know…all in a night's work."

Giles pressed on. "So nothing unusual happened last night?"

Buffy squeaked a little, remembering the kiss at the Bronze. "Nope! Definitely not. Just another average night in good ol' Sunnydale." She forced a wide smile.

Faith smiled back, but hers was more of a twisted, wry expression. "I wish all my nights were as ordinary as last night," she said to the blonde with a wink. "Just imagine what the extraordinary nights would be like."

The blonde hopped up from her seated position. "Wow! Look at the time!" she rambled. "I have school. Wouldn't want to be late. No way."

Faith stared thoughtfully at the blonde as she yet again stumbled out of the room. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"So, Faith." The girl shook her head free of her thoughts and looked up at Giles who stared down at her expectantly. "Let's talk about Finch."

"_What's going on with her lately?"_ Buffy mused to herself as she walked to chemistry class. _"I mean, sure she's always overtly flirty with everyone and makes all these double entendres and sexual innuendos, but lately it's been like out of control!"_

The blonde walked into the lab and saw Willow and Xander chatting animatedly with one another in their usual seats. Buffy took a deep breath before she strode in their direction, hoping that neither of them would mention last night's kiss. Ever.

But Buffy couldn't help but remember how warm and soft Faith's lips felt against hers. The way her tongue massaged her own. How her arms immediately prickled with goose bumps at the slight touch of Faith's fingertips. How quickly that touch burned through her body and made everyone in the Bronze seemed to disappear. _"Damn it, Buffy!"_ she thought to herself, shaking her head. _"What's going on with you lately?" _Willow and Xander stopped their chatting upon seeing the blonde standing expectantly.

"Heya, Buffster," Xander started. "Planning on sticking around for class today?"

"Huh? Oh, right." Buffy stumbled, suddenly remembering ditching class to go slaying with Faith earlier that week.

Buffy took a seat on her lab chair as her mind wandered to that day…Faith had waited outside the window for her while she snuck out to take on a nest of vamps. Being with Faith lately made her feel so…so free…so uninhibited. With Faith, Buffy for the first time felt as if slaying was who she was, not just a sacred duty to interfere with her normal life. Cheerleading certainly couldn't compete with the feeling of staking a vampire. Especially not with Faith fighting by her side. Unfortunately, letting loose with Faith had almost gotten her taken to jail and…she didn't even want to think about that dark alley and the…mistake….

"Buffy? What's wrong?" Willow asked, looking at the blonde with concern clearly written on her face.

"Oh! Uh…sorry, guys. It's nothing." Buffy shrugged noncommittally. "Just a late night I guess…tired…you know. Plus…chemistry – not really my thing."

Buffy looked toward the teacher as he started to drone on about atoms, trying to focus for once on electrons and neutrons. Her mind fell instead into a kind of sad daydreaming. She could almost see the heart-shaped smudge on the classroom window in the morning light.

"Later, G-man. I'll be back…later," Faith called as she walked out of the library. She let out a low sigh as she walked down the empty high school corridor. Giles had grilled her on she and Buffy's whereabouts the night of Finch's death, but Faith seemed to successfully wiggle herself out of blame, this time. Yes, police had found wooden splinters in his heart. Yes, they'd found his blood in an alley not far from Balthazar's warehouse. No, she and Buffy hadn't broken into the local sports shop and stolen a crossbow. Each lie piled up on the previous lie.

It wasn't that she enjoyed lying to Giles. He seemed to be the only decent guy in her life. But admitting what had happened to him wasn't going to get her any closer to winning the bet and her freedom. Maybe when she was long gone from SunnyD she'd write him and apologize for everything, but for now she had other priorities.

She half contemplated showing up at the window of Buffy's chemistry lab again, but the last time she did that, the night hadn't gone as planned. Faith looked up at the school clock. Just 9 AM. 36 hours to go. Faith made her way into the girl's restroom to splash some water on her face. She looked at herself in the mirror for a while, staring until her face became just a pattern of random shapes. Her eyes refocused when she realized she wasn't alone. A stall door opened, and there stood Buffy.

Faith looked at the blonde through the mirror, not turning around. "Hey there, B. Fancy running into you."

Buffy looked briefly startled as she recognized the brunette at the sink. "Faith! Oh, hey. I didn't think you'd still be here. At school."

Faith turned to look at her directly, "Yea, well you know the G-man. He's quite the talker." She winked at the blonde to prove that everything was alright. "Luckily, I was able to get free before the other English dude showed up. What an egghead," she laughed, rolling her eyes.

Buffy laughed too, relieved that Faith had yet to hit on her. "Yeah…I'm not sure I'm gonna get used to another Watcher-type around. Maybe it'll be like too much British for one library, and the Hellmouth will freak out and swallow us all." She smiled her patented Buffy half-grin.

Faith felt her heart flutter a bit at the sight of that smile. "Damn, girlfriend knows how to lay on the charm," she said to herself, admiring the blonde for a second. Buffy caught the taller girl suddenly eyeing her up and down. "What?" she blurted out. "Do I have toilet paper stuck somewhere?" She frantically checked the bottom of her shoes.

The dark girl allowed herself a low chuckle. "Nah, Princess. Was just admiring the view." She took a step closer.

"I, um…need to wash my hands," the blonde sputtered nervously. Faith moved to the side, and gestured that the sink was all hers. Buffy tried to focus on her hands and not the smoldering girl in the mirror. She could feel Faith's eyes on her body even without looking up. The elder slayer trained her eyes on the foamy lather she was building up instead.

"You smell really good today, Buffy," Faith breathed softly, coming up closer behind the blonde who continued to furiously scrub her hands. _"God, I'm an idiot. Who uses a line like that?"_ Faith mentally scolded herself.Buffy felt her heart race and her breath quicken as she instinctively felt the space between she and the brunette shrink. Faith reached out and touched a lock of Buffy's blonde mane, lightly playing with the strands between her fingertips. "Is it a new shampoo?" she innocently asked.

"I, uh…no. Er, maybe my new lotion or something. Thought I'd, um…try something different," the blonde Slayer stammered.

Faith dropped the hair and touched the blonde's slender waist instead. "Hmm…well, I like different on you, B," she murmured. The two slayers locked eyes in the mirror. Buffy felt Faith begin to play with the hem of her top. Buffy felt her throat tightening with each of Faith's bold touches. The next class bell suddenly rang. "I gotta go!" Buffy shouted, breaking the trance. She gave one final glance to the brunette before she hurried out the door. "I'll catch up with you later, right?"

Faith chewed on her lip and nodded, watching the blonde hustle out of the bathroom. "Maybe I'm just rusty," the brunette announced to no one particular. "Yeah…that's it. I just gotta get my mojo back – haven't gone stick-free in a while." Faith left the bathroom and headed for the school exit. "Plus, can't get in Blondie's pants while she's at school, anyway. Nothing sexy about high school." She smiled confidently now and threw the main doors open, feeling the warm California sun as it hit her skin. "Time for a little practice."

"I'll take another, Jimmy." Faith watched the nondescript bartender slide another microbrew down the length of the bar and grinned as the bottle settled nicely into her outstretched hand. She scanned the impressive crowd that had gathered despite the early hour. The brunette chuckled softly under her breath, "Man, the fine residents of SunnyD have got some drinking problems."

The bar was nothing special. Faith sometimes hung out there while the Scoobies were at school or when she was conveniently uninvited to a Scooby event. Some beer, some pool, and sexually experimental clientele. Besides that, the bartenders cared nothing about checking IDs and the blacked-out windows gave the impression that it was always night. And the dark slayer lived for the night. It was a wonder that the place hadn't turned into party-central for the undead with its anonymity and the absence of California sunshine; but Faith's frequent enough attendance kept the bar virtually vampire-free.

The brunette ruffled her long tresses with her fingers and plumped her cleavage in preparation of her next move. Time to spread some pheromones. Beer in hand she sauntered over to an occupied pool table. Some muscle-clad Anglo-Saxon frat boy was trying to impress his "date" with his shoddy pool skills. The girl sat on a barstool, watching him miss shot after shot while she played absent-mindedly with her straightened, bleach-blonde hair, twirling the ends between her fingers. Faith resisted rolling her eyes. "I'm _so_ in California," she muttered.

The blonde girl had potential; she wore a tight top and even tighter skirt that had ridden dangerously high up her slender form. Her best feature was definitely her legs, and it was clear that she knew it. Her strappy sandals clung vicariously to her toned calves, much in the style of ballet slippers.

The college beef-stick leaned over to take a shot and Faith walked to the other side of the pool table, distracting him from the ball in the corner pocket. He paused for a moment to admire the dark, sexual figure who had silently sized him up with a single glance. Faith placed her hands on the edge of the table and leaned over slightly, exposing more of her olive-tinted cleavage. "That's a pretty big stick," she cooed. "Are you sure you know how to use it?"

The Neanderthal straightened up, the pool cue in one hand. He leered at the brunette and then glanced furtively at his "date" before forming his response. "Baby, you've never had wood like mine."

Faith winced at his reply. "Really? He just said that?" she sighed to herself. "If I were a man, I'd be getting in girls' panties all day long… Wait…" she smiled. "I still do."

The coed mistook her smile as an invitation. As he started to walk toward her, Faith held up a manicured hand. "Hold on, stud. How about some pool?" The blonde on the barstool snickered loudly. Faith smiled and motioned her head toward the seated girl. "I'll play you for _her_."

Faith prowled closer to the blonde and locked eyes with her. The girl looked clearly shocked at first but then narrowed her eyes in contemplation, her mouth twisting into a crooked smile. Faith walked closer still and rested a hand on her prey's exposed, bare knee. "So?" the brunette questioned, her eyes intense and her fingers playing lightly against the smooth tan skin. "Are you game?"

"I can't believe you were so _bold_, Faith. I don't think I'll _ever_ forget the look on Josh's face." The bar blonde released a bubbling laugh. It was nearly 2 PM by the time the two left the bar – still not respectable hours for drinking, but they were headed to Faith's motel room for that purpose…and probably more. The blonde had an open, affectionate personality and she walked easily with Faith, her arm linked through Faith's own leather clad arm.

Faith glanced at her companion and admired her pixie-like features – But she couldn't help wishing that it was Buffy who so easily held her arm as they walked closer to the shady motel. _"Damn it,"_ she thought. _"How am I going to seduce Buffy? And what the hell is this girl's name? Damn it, damn it. I was never good at remembering details…except when it comes to a different blonde."_ Faith sheepishly admitted to herself that she probably had memorized every feature, every facet, everything that was remotely Buffy. _"What is that about?"_ Faith mentally shook herself and focused on the task at hand – unlocking her front door.

The blonde continued her light and easy banter, still impressed by the darker girl's audacity and pool skills. "You know, I've seen you at that bar before. You never seem to leave alone." She laughed again. "And always with a different blonde, too – I guess I can thank Clairol for my good luck." Faith turned her key in the lock and wedged the sticking door wide open. "You're quire observant, girlie. Or else I'm just really irresistible." She waggled her eyebrows a little, looking at the blonde.

While Faith's conversation continued to stay flirtatious and confident, her mind fired off warning flares. _"Wait a minute! I always leave with blondes? That can't be right."_ She quickly ticked off her most recent "visitors" in her head. Faith hid her scowl from the girl, realizing the peroxide pattern. _"There's no way…that's just a….coincidence? It doesn't mean anything, does it?" _

She looked up when she felt a hand on her face. "Such deep thoughts… what's going on in there?" The nameless blonde lightly tapped Faith's furrowed forehead.

Faith shook her head, "Sorry…mind was someplace else." The blonde took Faith's hand in hers and locked eyes. "Come here," she purred, pulling the brunette onto the bed. "I'll make you forget everything else." Faith sighed out loud. "If only you could."

The girl dropped the dark slayer's hand and eyeballed her potential partner. "You're not seeing someone, are you?" she asked, slightly irritated.

"What? No. No. I'm not much of a relationship girl," Faith replied. She ran her hands down her leather-bound curves. "Besides, I'm too much woman for just one person to handle," she grinned, feeling her cockiness restored. "_Man!"_ She mentally slapped herself. _"What are you doing, Lehane? Stop being an idiot and get some!"_

The smile returned to the blonde's face. "You _are _a lot to handle…but I'm _dying_ to try." The girl ran her fingertips down Faith's sides and again tried to coax her into bed. Faith stopped short and looked at the slender blonde who now lay sprawled out on her comforter. The blonde removed her top, revealing a lacy pink bra and slowly wiggled her miniskirt down her legs, discarding the matching Brazilian cut lace underwear as well. "Come here, gorgeous," she breathed, curling her finger in a "come-hither" motion.

Faith let her eyes drink in the nearly naked girl on her bed. She was hot, yes. And hot for Faith. What more could a girl ask for? Faith traced the girl's slender curves and marveled at how much the blonde's body mirrored her sister slayer's_. "What? Buffy thought_s again_?" _Faith silently screamed in frustration. "_Get it together, Lehane_."

Faith looked into the girl's eyes – not as thoughtful or gentle as Buffy's.

The brunette followed down the blonde's flawless, slender neck. Buffy's would have shown the scar from the Master's embrace. Buffy's brief death in some ways symbolized Faith's eventual birth as a Slayer. She owed so many things to that bite.

She looked at the delicate pink bra – the only clothing left on the girl's tender form – and wondered if Buffy owned anything like it.

Faith felt herself getting warmer as her eyes traveled further south to notice the blonde's shaved womanhood, yet she couldn't help but muse if Buffy was a real blonde.

"_Oh my God, Faith. Are you trying to mess this up?"_ The brunette's insides were screaming.

Everything was wrong. A naked, _hot and willing_ female was spread out on her bed and the only thing Faith could think about was a blonde on whose radar she barely seemed to register. Why could she not stop thinking about Buffy when she should be fucking this random girl?

"_I don't fall in love. I don't fall in love. I don't fall in love." _Faith chanted her mantra silently in her head, looking at the carpet.

"What did you say?"

Faith looked up at the still-naked blonde whose face had become contorted with confusion.

"You need to go," Faith stated flatly.

"What?" The blonde sat up abruptly from her reclined position.

"Look. I'm sorry, whatever. But you need to go. This isn't happening." Faith looked away, not able to face the girl.

"You can't be serious. This is the most _fucked up_ – I can't believe I…Josh is never going to forgive me, you…." The blonde fumed and babbled in anger as she hastily collected her clothing and quickly dressed.

Faith continued to stand quietly, her face emotionless and her hands jammed into the pockets of her leathers. Before leaving, the blonde turned and gave one final retort. "I don't know who she is," she spat out bitterly. "But she'd better be _fucking amazing_ to turn down a hot piece of ass like me." She made sure to slam the door for dramatic effect.

Faith released a long breath and looked up to the ceiling. "She is."

"Earth to Faith. Come in, Faith, do you read me? Hellloooooooo?"

"Huh? What?"

The brunette's face scrunched into a frown as she looked into Xander's eyes.

"Sorry, man. I must've been distracted by all these books," Faith joked, motioning to the stacks in front of her. Xander hopped up from his seat, excitedly.

"Oh, yeah? Did you see the woodcarvings, too? You know…the ones with the elf women with the big…." Xander stopped his sentence abruptly, suddenly realizing he was talking out loud. "Ears. Big ears." The awkward boy sat down again, blushing deeply.

The librarian exited his office and sighed loudly while he continued to clean his glasses. "Xander. I'd better not discover that the pages of these texts mysteriously stick together."

Xander's jaw dropped and even Faith looked impressed. "Woah, Giles. Bringin' out the big guns," the younger slayer laughed.

"Guns? We're using guns now? That seems so…21st century. What am I going to do with Mr. Pointy?" Buffy walked into the library to find one stunned-looking Xander, an annoyed Giles, and a smirking Faith. The blonde's hands were full of books, giving her an uncharacteristically studious look.

"Oh hey, Buff. Um…how about lots of little fences?" Xander composed himself and tried to be helpful.

Buffy's smile turned into an irresistible pout as she set the books down on their research table. "But I'd just gotten the hang of all that staking and vampire poofing."

Faith felt her heart pound a little faster the moment Buffy entered the library. The sun seemed to shine a little brighter whenever Buffy walked into a room…and they were inside. She couldn't tear her eyes from Buffy's exaggerated pout, thinking about tasting the blonde's candy mouth again. Faith suddenly felt uncontrollably flushed. _"Oh my God. Does Buffy even realize what she's doing right now?"_ the brunette internalized. She glanced over at Xander who seemed equally uncomfortable.

"No really, guys. What were you talking about?" Buffy questioned, stamping her foot a little.

Xander shifted in his seat looking even less at ease. Giles cleared his throat and walked back into his office, avoiding the blonde's look of confusion. Faith covered her mouth, doing her best not to burst into laughter at Xander's expense.

"So, girlfriend. We slaying tonight?" Faith changed the subject and smiled up at the pouting girl. Xander mouthed "thank you" in her direction.

"Oh, um. Yea, I guess so." Now it was Buffy's turn to look flustered as she found herself admiring Faith's deep dimples.

"Cool. Just the two of us then." Faith purred a little and winked.

"Xander! Slaying!" Buffy tore her eyes from Faith's smile and looked at the boy.

"Huh?" Xander looked up from an ancient text and shook his head. "Oh. Can't, Buffy. Willow's making me study or something tonight. Not everyone can skip chemistry class," Xander scowled.

"Oh! Where is Wills?" Buffy asked, suddenly noticing the redhead's absence.

Xander shrugged. "With Oz. Or a computer. Or both."

Faith snickered. "Kinky. I always knew Red had it in her….it's always those unsuspecting quiet ones."

Buffy ignored the comment. "Are you sure you can't come out tonight for patrol, Xander?" She was nearly begging.

Giles walked out of his office. "Buffy? What's wrong? Did you have a Slayer dream? Is there some reason why you and Faith can't handle patrol tonight on your own?"

Buffy glanced at the seated brunette slayer who was now grinning ear to ear.

"You could always get Angel to help out. I'm sure he wouldn't mind," the librarian continued.

Both slayers jumped. "No!" Buffy nearly shouted. "We're five by five, Giles!" Faith added enthusiastically.

The Chosen Two looked at each other, surprised by the other's adamant response. Buffy worried that bringing Angel along would result in her sister Slayer's arrest and Faith knew that with Angel around, there was no way she was winning the bet.

"Good. Then it's settled. The Slayers will patrol the cemeteries tonight and then report back in the morning with a detailed report." Everyone looked to discover the source of the annoying voice, only to see the stuffy, new English Watcher entering the library.

"Oh. Hello, Wesley," Giles grimaced slightly. "Good of you to join us."

"I've been on important Council business all day, Mr. Giles. One cannot begin to understand the urgency and necessity of –" the impeccably dressed man began.

"Great to see you, Wesley," Buffy interrupted. She grabbed Faith by the hand and pulled her to her feet. "Let's go, Faith." The blonde turned briefly towards Wesley. "We'll be in touch."

The three males watched as the girls sashayed out of the library's front doors, hand in hand, not looking back. Wesley sputtered a bit. "Well, I never…."

Giles sighed loudly, "Get use to it, Wesley. They're yours now." He turned on his heels and returned to his office, leaving the new Watcher to feel sorry for himself.

The Chosen Two strode out of the high school with a purpose, out into the night, towards the first of many cemeteries.

"Look at you, Blondie. All defying authority." Faith allowed herself a cheeky grin. "We're gonna have fun tonight." She accented her statement with a little skip in her step.

Buffy sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, walking in step with the taller girl. "Why did Giles have to go and get himself fired, anyway?"

Faith looked over at the elder slayer. "You're right," she began. "How inconsiderate of him to try and save your life." The two locked eyes and met each other with equally wide grins. _"Yes,"_ Faith thought. _"This _is_ going to be a good night."_

"Let's go find some fun, huh? I bet there's some vamps just bustin' to rassle." She winked at the blonde. "And I've got an itch that needs scratchin'."

They reached the first cemetery just as the sun began to sink into the horizon and Faith looked up into the sky. "We should really get shirts or something," she stated.

Buffy looked at the girl, confused. "Shirts?"

Faith chuckled. "Ya know…company t-shirts or something. 'Vampire Slayers: Our day starts when yours ends.' Oh wait! How about…'Our day starts when your _life_ ends. Too morbid?"

Buffy let out a low whistle and choked back her laughter. "Wow, Faith. You're really a nerd sometimes."

The dark Slayer stepped close to her partner. She dropped her tone to a low, sexy drawl. "Yea, but you wouldn't want me any other way." She smiled an evil grin, showing off her deep dimples again and looked straight into the blonde's hazel-green eyes.

Buffy did nothing to distance herself from the taller girl. Faith felt her body taking over as she watched herself moving slowly to touch Buffy's waist, as if her hand was suddenly no longer in her control.

"Buffy," she whispered, surprised at the softness in her voice. Buffy stared back, afraid to break eye contact with the other girl. Faith's hand fluttered over the hem of Buffy's top.

"Faith," Buffy breathed.

The blonde's eyes suddenly lost their focus. "Duck."

Faith dropped down to a crouching position just in time for her sister Slayer to smash her head into the face of a vampire who had somehow snuck up on the two conversing women. The badly dressed, undead creature howled in pain and clutched his now-broken nose. Faith army-rolled out of the way, so the Chosen One could take care of the menace who had so rudely interrupted their moment.

Buffy gracefully and stealthily swept her outstretched leg under the stumbling legs of the inept vampire. He promptly fell onto his back with a muffled thud, the shaggy grass doing little to soften the fall.

"Heads up, B!" the younger Slayer called. Buffy looked up from the fallen vampire to see a stake flying towards her. She deftly caught it mid-air and plunged it down towards the ground as the vampire exploded around the wood with a satisfying poof.

"Hmph. Vampires. No manners at all," Buffy bantered, brushing dust from her pastel ensemble.

Faith's eyes looked into the distance. "Well, don't look now, girlfriend. But we've got s'more etiquette to dish out." She nodded in the direction of a pair of none-too-silent prowlers, exiting one of the cemetery's many crypts.

Buffy felt her body morphing into Slayer-mode – her senses alert, her body tense and readying itself for battle. "Alright then. But I get to be Miss Manners."

The two Slayers inched quietly towards the two figures, sizing up their new opponents. As they gained more ground, the two noted that their new foes were not simply the undead but rather two bulky, rock-like demons. The hardened beasts moved from crypt to crypt, not communicating, but clearly with a purpose or mission. The Slayers crouched behind a large tomb, waiting to make their attack.

The women locked eyes and with grim smiles, entered battle.

Buffy launched a wooden stake in the direction of one of the monsters. The stake expertly hit its mark, plunging deep into the demon's skin. But, not surprisingly, stabbing where a heart should be was not the answer to this riddle.

The giant demon howled and charged toward the blonde slayer. Despite its hulking size, the beastie was deceptively nimble. Before Buffy could react to its speed, she was flying through the air, crashing into a marble mausoleum.

A few yards away, Faith attempted to fend off the twin demon, but her attentions quickly changed focus as she watched the other demon easily toss her sister slayer through the air. The dark slayer unleashed a visceral growl, her eyes growing black with rage.

The brunette smashed her fist into demon #2's bumpy face, ignoring the fiery pain that shot up her assaulting arm. The demon crumpled to the ground, seemingly unconscious, allowing the younger woman to sprint toward demon #1 in a blind rage. Buffy lay moaning on the ground, holding her left shoulder, unaware of the menacing demon standing above her vulnerable form.

Faith launched herself at the monster, tackling it to the ground. "Don't touch her, you ugly fuck!" she snarled loudly. Faith now sat perched atop the stunned creature and assaulted the demon's face with efficiently placed punches until the hulking beast's visage was bloodied beyond recognition.

"No one hurts Buffy," she rasped, wild with rage. Unleashing one final howl, the younger Slayer grabbed the sides of the demon's head, and with a sickening snap, twisted the head clear from the monster's neck.

In her anger, Faith forgot about the other demon who, wisely, upon witnessing its partner's gruesome demise, scampered away into the darkness.

"Ugh…I hate when that happens." Buffy, groggy and shaky, pulled herself from the cemetery ground and leaned against the mausoleum. "I guess you get to be Miss Manners tonight," she quipped to Faith's back, pulling a few blades of grass from her blonde locks.

The dark slayer continued to lean over the demon's now-decapitated body, its head a few yards away. "Faith?" Buffy questioned, tentatively reaching out towards the brooding slayer's huddled form.

"Faith?" Buffy tried again.

The dark slayer visibly tensed when the blonde's hand met her leather-clad shoulder. Buffy now stood behind the brunette, who continued to ignore her presence.

"What…what is it, Faith?" she asked softly, her voice full of gentle concern.

Faith straightened up and turned to face the elder girl, her eyes cast downward. Buffy followed the trajectory of Faith's own gaze and her eyes fell upon the object of the brunette's attentions. Her hands. Faith's strong, capable hands. Covered in crimson demon blood.

Buffy touched Faith's hands with her own. "Oh, Faith. It's okay. Faith, you're fine. It's okay, it's only demon blood. You…" she trailed off when Faith's gaze finally met her own. Her expressive eyes, so often challenging or filled with mirth or rage or sadness were now filled with something entirely different – lust, possession, and need.

Buffy released a cry of surprise when she realized the dark slayer's lips were suddenly crushed against her own. She felt the desperation and despair of the younger girl in that kiss. She felt the desire and determination as Faith assertively pushed the blonde's body against the cold stone of the mausoleum that had, just moments earlier, rendered her unconscious.

Faith released Buffy's lips only to trail her mouth down the blonde's neck and roughly nip at the tender flesh, her mouth seeking out the pressure point. She ground her leather-clad hips into the cotton softness that was Buffy Summers.

Buffy was finding it increasingly hard to keep her body under control and resist the advances of the dark slayer. Her brain screamed at her to form words, but her breath only came in short gasps as she tried to ignore the fire burning deep in her belly.

Faith growled. "I can't lose you, B." Her hands continued to roam frantically, unsure of where to touch next.

Buffy gasped as she felt Faith's strong knee wedge between her jean-clad thighs and she unconsciously spread them wider for the brunette. "You're…ah…not…going…to. Not…huh…going…anywhere," the blonde managed to choke out.

Faith's mouth continued its assault on the Chosen One's neck. Buffy groaned, still unsure of what was going on and if it should even be happening. Her body, however, was beginning to go on autopilot, to give in to the pleasure that Faith was creating.

"Faith…I…I…don't know…if… Oh god…" Buffy's eyes nearly rolled back into her skull as she felt Faith grind her thigh harder into her sex, the jean material roughly pressing against her throbbing clit.

Faith, emboldened by Buffy's encouraging moans, slid her right hand down the blonde's disciplined body.

"Where…" gasped the blonde, "where are you going?"

Faith's hand continued to travel south. She locked eyes with the elder slayer, her own chocolate pupils dilated with lust. "Just let me do this for you." Her voice came out deep, husky and thick with desire.

The blonde looked back at her from beneath heavy eyelashes, her eyelids drunk from desire. She bit her bottom lip and merely nodded her consent, as if she were afraid that words would break the spell she seemed to be under.

Faith quickly and without warning unsnapped and unzipped the front of Buffy's jeans and wiggled them down the blonde's narrow hips just enough to allow herself entry. Her expert fingers roughly rubbed the elder girl's clit briefly through the thin cotton of her panties before haphazardly moving the material to the side.

Buffy let out the breath she was unknowingly holding in as she felt herself exposed to the dark slayer, only to suck that same air back in as Faith forced two fingers into the blonde's waiting sex. Buffy felt herself being spread open, and she looked down, suddenly mesmerized by the sight of Faith's fingers so intimately touching her.

Faith's own need frightened her. Not the familiar need to get herself off, but her need to make Buffy come. Never had she wanted something so badly. Never had she wanted to please a lover in this way.

She felt the tightness of the blonde giving way to wetness as the brunette paused just momentarily to allow the girl to adjust to the sudden intrusion. And then she was thrusting. Slow, long and deep at first, feeling her fingers becoming coated with the elder slayer's desire, giving way to short, fast and shallow as Faith's own desire took over.

The Chosen Two exchanged no words, the quiet of the cemetery disturbed only by the sound of slapping skin on skin.

And then it happened. At first just a lingering itch that turned into burning that bubbled up from within the blonde's core. "Oh my god, Faith. I'm coming," she gasped. The slayer clawed uselessly into the stone mausoleum as the orgasm coursed through her body from her toes to her fingernails.

Faith waited until she felt Buffy's body relax with her release and the younger slayer unsteadily eased her fingers from the blonde's sex.

Buffy remained quiet after her outburst, her eyelids closed slightly, relaxed, and unfocused.

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this."

Buffy opened her eyes wider, trying to focus on Faith's form. Her lover stood before her, suddenly choking on sobs, her dark eyes unleashing giant, salty tears.

Buffy opened her mouth as if to speak, but Faith cut her off. "I _don't_ fall in love."

She turned and sprinted away from the blonde and back into the darkness.

Buffy stood stationary for a moment, her back still against the mausoleum. Suddenly remembering, she pulled up her jeans, briefly fumbling with the closure as she fought back the stinging tears.

Buffy walked home slowly, feeling vulnerable and confused. She quietly let herself into her home so as to not awake her mother. She climbed the carpeted stairs in silence and locked herself into her bathroom where she proceeded to wash the demon blood from her inner thighs.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Faith stumbled, suffocated by sobs, her eyes blinded by tears, as she ran through the familiar Sunnydale streets back to her motel. She only barely closed the door of her dilapidated room behind her before sliding down a wall and finally surrendering to her emotions. Ignoring the dried demon blood and Buffy that coated her fingers, the dark haired Slayer covered her face with her hands and released a machine-gun smattering of grief. The tears fell down her face freely, but did nothing to clear her mind or help make sense of what had just happened between her and the other Slayer in the cemetery.

"_Oh my god. What just happened? What did I just do? I…I hate Buffy… This town should be _mine_. Fuck that bratty, little princess. She gets it all – the hero-worshiping Scooby pals, the sober mom, the Watcher, the idiot boyfriend, even if he's dead. Fuck it. I _don't _love her. There's no way. This is just because of the bet. It only happened because of the bet." _The dark Slayer ran her fingers through her wind-tangled hair.

"_God damn it. I_ don't_ fall in love! And I sure as hell don't fall for straight-as-an-arrow, goodie-two-shoes cheerleader-types."_ Faith tried to control her breathing. _"Fuck! What am I going to say tomorrow? What is_ she_ going to say tomorrow? Oh god, I'm screwed."_

A strong, insistent rap on the door brought her out of her misery-induced coma. The knocking continued, quickly stilling the despair in her throat.

"Go away. I'm already paid up for the week," she croaked, her voice raw from crying.

The knocking persisted and Faith suddenly realized and dreaded that a blonde superhero could be on the other side of the door.

No matter how hard she tried, the younger Slayer couldn't erase the memory of the taste of Buffy's skin, or the feel of Buffy's hot, tight, wet sex enveloping her fingers, or the sounds of Buffy's moans as she'd nipped her way from her lips to her neck. She couldn't forget the look of the post-orgasm glow that radiated from the golden Slayer.

Faith knew she had always been physically attracted to the elder girl – from the moment she had first recognized her that night at the Bronze. Faith couldn't count the number of times she had wanted to take the blonde Slayer back to her motel room and consume her after a hard and heavy evening of slaying.

But tonight had made her realize something altogether new. It had cemented itself in her consciousness as soon as she saw her sister-Slayer crashing into the mausoleum and that hulk of a demon looming larger than life over her half-conscious body. This wasn't just about sex. This wasn't just about getting some and getting gone. This was about Buffy Anne Summers.

The insistent knocking continued and awoke Faith from her reverie. Finally, she crawled up on shaky legs and braced herself against the doorframe for a moment of strength.

Then, taking a deep breath, she opened the door.

Buffy crawled in between the softness of her blankets and clutched Mr. Gordo to her chest. Her body had continued on autopilot to prepare for bed after cleaning up in her bathroom. Without much thought she had brushed her teeth, washed her face, threw her blonde locks into a messy ponytail and had pulled on an oversized t-shirt before sliding into bed. She knew that if she had stopped her nighttime ritual and took even a fleeting moment to think about that night's events, she would have felt wildly out of sorts.

Now that she lay in her bed, she allowed herself to finally form relevant thoughts. The blonde Slayer bit her lip to keep back the tears that continually threatened to surface. How had tonight gotten so out of control? What had actually happened in the cemetery? And why?

A shudder racked Buffy's body as she allowed herself to remember the way Faith's fingers had felt deep inside her. Being intimate with the Boston girl was like playing with fire and ice. The rough and insistent touch, the fluttering of kisses on her neck, the crushing of lips and gnashing of teeth. The look in Faith's eyes. The need thick in her voice. All of it terrified Buffy with its intent and intensity, yet she knew that her body craved more. She had never gotten off so hard or so quickly. A low-fat yogurt never satisfied her _that _well.

Buffy knew her sister-Slayer was quickly unraveling. The rage. The desperation. The lust. All that Faith had seemingly kept in check before was now suddenly bubbling to the surface. And this wasn't just about what had happened that regrettable night with Allan Finch. There was something more to all of this; she was sure of it.

Buffy silently vowed that she would not allow the night's events to tear a deeper rift between her and Faith. Whether it was an accident or something more, the blonde girl could not ignore what had happened, nor could she let Faith push her away any longer.

The elder Slayer finally drifted into a deep sleep, coveting the few hours before her alarm would ring, with the promise of a new day peeking through her bedroom curtains.

Faith whipped her motel door open, allowing a protective wall to form between her emotions and reality. Although she had not really expected the blonde Slayer to follow her home, she was even more surprised to find Angel standing on the other side of the threshold. Generally, the Boston Slayer would have sensed a vampire's presence so close. The brunette allowed a brief look of surprise to pass across her face before her features hardened into disinterest.

"Soul-boy." Her voice came out flat and unaffected.

"Faith," Angel countered, his tone mildly masking his anger.

"So to what do I owe the privilege and pleasure of a visit?" Faith started dismissively. "Because, honestly, I'm really in no mood for chit-chat."

Angel narrowed his dark eyes. "I can smell her all over you. You disgust me."

Faith sneered back, her tone bitter. "What did you expect, Angel? That your blonde saint would be able to resist _me_? Let's face it, even perfect Buffy Summers craves what you can't give her."

The souled-vampire puffed his chest out, attempting to loom larger. "You haven't won the bet, Faith. And by the looks of how your little stunt tonight ended, you've already lost. I hope you look good in stripes," he taunted.

Angel pushed past the stunned Slayer and into the center of the room. "I don't need an invite. It's a motel," he answered her questioning look.

The vampire knew the younger Slayer was close to the edge, but his demon had no sympathy for her situation now. Buffy was his. He was her only. Had he even suspected that Buffy might be tempted to give in to what the dark Slayer had to offer, he would have never made the bet. It had taken every ounce of willpower not to drain the blood from Faith's body as he watched her taking his girlfriend in the cemetery. His demon screamed in rage as he witnessed Buffy's orgasm at the hands of the brunette. It was even harder now to keep his emotions in check as he stood in her motel room, Buffy's scent lingering and overpowering in the air.

"Nice manners, Angel." The leather-clad beauty's sarcasm ripped the vampire from his angry musings. She crossed her arms across her chest, deliberately accentuating her cleavage. "So, now what? You got an eyeful of what I've got to offer and now you're hoping to get a little taste for yourself?"

Faith easily slipped into her sexual defenses to hide her fear. She stepped closer to the vamp, licking her full lips and eyeing him up and down. "Cause you know…your girl's got me all juiced up and needin' some kinda release," she purred.

Angel's body tensed, fighting the urge to launch his fist through the brunette's face. "You've got less than 24 hours of freedom left, Faith," he snapped. "Better not waste it, because there's no way Buffy's going to want any part of you after tonight's little freak show."

He exited the room as quickly as he entered. "I'll be seeing you," he growled, his long coat fluttering in the wind.

Faith watched as Angel's brooding form faded into the shadows. She slammed the door in a rage and locked the deadbolt.

"Fuck!" she hollered.

The younger Slayer felt her body and her mind slowly giving up to exhaustion, and she slid to the floor once again, allowing her consciousness to slip away. Resigned and beyond caring, her body huddled into the fetal position on the stained carpet, just as the first rays of sunlight brought in a new day.

The high school library was eerily quiet even for the early hour. Buffy had rushed to school that morning with the empty hope of seeing Faith before she had to go to class. A part of her knew that if she had really wanted to confront the dark girl she should have stopped by her motel. But after last night's events, the last thing Buffy trusted was the combination of Faith and a bed. Maybe even the combination of Faith and a cemetery was dangerous now.

"Important day?" Buffy spun around to see Giles exiting his office, his uniform of tweed a little less pressed than usual.

"Giles! Oh, well, you know me. Eager beaver. Don't want to fall behind in school. Early worm catches the bir—…no, that's not right because why would a _worm_ want to eat a _bird_? I mean, unless it were a _demonic _kind of worm, and I guess I shouldn't be too surprised about evil worms on the Hellmouth." Buffy babbled incessantly and nervously fidgeted with her backpack. "I think I'll just be quiet now because this is a library."

"Buffy, is everything okay?" Giles questioned, taking his glasses off. "Did something happen during last night's patrol?" His paternal gaze seemed to pierce through her anxiety.

"Demons. Hellmouthy demons," the blonde Slayer blurted out.

"Oh?" Giles looked more interested and returned his glasses to perch on his nose. "Were you able to defeat them?"

"Well, Faith was able to behead one of them, but I was kinda unconscious, and the other one ran away, I think – I'm not really sure because I was unconscious. Yes. Definitely knocked out and unable to fight." The girl took a deep breath, "I'll go back tonight and get the other one. No worries. I got it. One dead demon, coming up."

Giles gave his former charge a puzzled look. Buffy was prone to babbling, but this was a bit much even for her.

"Alright then," he slowly agreed, thinking. "But I want you to bring Faith or Angel along just in case. If this demon was able to render you unconscious once, I want you to take extra precautions this time."

The girl visibly tensed when the formerly employed Watcher mentioned the F-word. Faith. A brief memory from the previous night flashed through the blonde's head. Buffy felt herself clawing at the concrete mausoleum again as Faith desperately penetrated her sex with her strong fingers.

"Buffy…about Faith," Giles started, snapping the elder Slayer back to attention.

He had wanted to talk to Buffy about the mysterious death of the Deputy Mayor earlier, but was unsure how to approach the topic knowing how sensitive the subject of the Boston Slayer was to the blonde. The elder girl had not eagerly accepted the presence of a second Slayer on the Hellmouth.

"Even though I'm no longer officially employed by the Council as your Watcher," he began again, "I want you to remember that you can always come talk to me about anything – not just demons and overdue library books." Giles paused deliberately and looked expectantly at the young blonde woman. "If either you or Faith were in some kind of trouble, I hope you would come talk to me first to help you make sense of the situation."

Buffy nodded once to shake the visual of Faith's lusty dark eyes from her mind. "I know, Giles," she interrupted. "I'll be careful. I won't let this demon take advantage of me again."

The first bell rang and Buffy gathered her things before rushing out the library double doors without another word. The British man stood alone in the book-ridden space, left to ponder the inner workings of American teenagers.

"Just give me the damn bottle, Jimmy." The brunette glared menacingly at the stoical bartender.

"I think you've had enough for one day, Faith," the nondescript man stated flatly.

Faith scrambled up quickly from her barstool and grabbed the front of the bartender's shirt with her balled-up fists. "And I think I've had enough of _you_ for one day, Jimmy. Give. Me. The. Bottle," she demanded between clenched teeth.

Jimmy held up his hands in defeat and willed his heartbeat to return to normal when the dark Slayer finally released the front of his shirt. He reached under the bar and promptly brought out an unopened fifth of Jack Daniels. "Here. It's on the house."

Faith narrowed her eyes one more time before yanking the bottle out of the man's shaking hand. "Be seeing you, Jimmy," she smiled sweetly, the words like a warning.

The leather-covered girl, hard liquor in tote, left the bar by kicking the door open as a dramatic exit.

The day couldn't end soon enough for the brunette. She prayed that the alcohol would speed things along.

Buffy sat at the long wooden table in the library, silently staring at her hands. All day she had waited on edge for the Boston Slayer to appear. At lunch she had anxiously anticipated Faith's confident swagger into the cafeteria to steal Xander's fries and tease Willow about getting down and dirty with Oz. During every class period, the elder Slayer gazed out the window hoping for the brunette to show up in the center courtyard and rescue her from Shakespeare, World War II, and conjugating foreign verbs. But the younger Slayer had been absent all day. Now Buffy waited in the library, hoping that she would show up for their Thursday evening sparring. But she knew, deep down, that the brunette was going to be a no-show yet again.

The doors to the library swung open, but the Slayer didn't bother to look up. She knew it wasn't Faith. She couldn't feel her. Ever since Faith's arrival in Sunnydale, the blonde Slayer had been able to sense the other girl's presence. She always knew when the brunette was close. And right now Faith was nowhere near the high school. And nowhere near Buffy.

"Hey, Buffy!" Willow chirped cheerfully as she and Xander plopped down at the wooden table beside the blonde. "You coming to the Bronze? Oz is playing tonight?"

Buffy looked up from her hands and forced a fake smile. "Maybe after patrol. I don't know though. I'm kinda tired today."

Willow's smile turned into a sympathetic frown. "Should you patrol tonight if you're tired? Maybe you should take the night off. I'm sure Faith can patrol by herself. It's not like she has school or anything in the morning." The redhead looked slightly annoyed. She had never been a fan of the Boston Slayer, especially when she monopolized her best friend's time.

"Don't worry about me, guys." The blonde stood up. "Have fun at the Bronze and maybe I'll see you later, okay? There's just something I have to do first." She gave a curt wave to her friends and walked toward the library's front doors.

"Like save the world?" Xander asked after her.

Buffy gave her two best friends a tight smile before exiting. "Something like that."

The sound of breaking glass shattered the night's silence.

"Even Jack D left me," Faith complained loudly. She looked upon the shards of glass that remained from the empty bottle she had thrown at the cemetery mausoleum. The same mausoleum where she and Buffy had – the brunette shook those thoughts free from her head. No more thinking about the Chosen One. Not tonight.

She continued to look at the broken glass longingly, wishing she had the courage to cut deep through her flesh and end it all. She wanted pain. She needed pain. Pain was her constant companion. The pain would never leave her like everyone else in her life.

After her behavior the previous night, the dark Slayer had convinced herself that Buffy would no longer want anything to do with her. She had resigned herself to the fact that at eleven o'clock that night, just a few hours away, she would lose the bet with Angel and be forced to forfeit her freedom. But there was no way Faith was going to turn herself in to the police and confess to killing Allan Finch. Tonight she had a different exit plan.

But even more than the pain of losing the bet, her heart ached because she realized she had lost Buffy Summers.

The plan had been easy. Get in Buffy's pants and then run as fast and as far away from this cursed town as possible. But in the process of wooing the blonde girl, the dark Slayer realized that her own lusting after Buffy was more than the Boston girl's raging libido. It might have actually been love that she felt for the golden Slayer. But there was no way that the Chosen One could ever return those kinds of emotions. Not when she already had Angel. Not when Faith was such a fuck-up.

The girl felt her Slayer senses tingle. Right on time. She continued to stare at the broken bottle and almost laughed out loud at how well that shattered container mirrored her own life. Used. Discarded. Destroyed.

And then the pain came down like rain. And Faith welcomed it with open arms, her eyes shut tight.

Buffy had spent the early evening looking for her sister-Slayer. She reluctantly stopped at Faith's motel room first, but upon finding it an empty and chaotic mess, she walked to the mansion to enlist the help of Angel. As much as she dreaded facing her soul-ed lover after the events of the previous night, she realized she needed his help to find the rogue Slayer before it was too late. Without knocking, she burst through the entrance and found Angel pulling on his long duster, apparently readying to leave.

"Angel! Good, you're here. It's Faith. She needs our help," the blonde breathlessly announced.

The darkness of the room struggled against a few lit candles and the fire crackling in the fireplace. The fire's flames cast long shadows of their figures against the walls.

"Not right now, Buffy. I have a little project that needs attending to," he replied without turning to face her.

"Angel," she started again, saying his name louder, "you said it yourself once. We can't give up on her. We have to help her. She – she hasn't been acting like herself since what happened with Finch."

"There seems to be a lot of that going around lately," Angel spat, finally looking at the windswept Slayer.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Buffy demanded, her voice tinted with growing anger.

"I'm a vampire, Buffy," Angel responded, unable to hide his bitter tone. "I can smell her all over you when you've been…close," he explained. "That night at the Bronze before Faith killed Finch, her scent was all over you."

"We'd been dancing!" the blonde Slayer exclaimed, her voice shrill.

"So that's what the kids are calling it nowadays," the soul-ed vampire muttered, crossing his arms like a spoiled child.

"I don't have time for all this brooding, Angel. Faith is out there somewhere, and we need to find her."

"She's playing you, Buffy," the vampire growled. "That's all this is to her. A game."

Buffy looked exasperated and impatient. "What are you talking about?"

"Faith made a bet with me – a wager – one final game before prison." Angel looked guiltily at his girlfriend, his dark eyes suddenly apologetic. "I thought it was the only way I could get her to finally admit to herself what she'd done."

The golden-haired Slayer frowned, her eyes narrowing slightly with the weight of realization. "And the stakes of this wager?" she pressed.

"Faith's not ready to admit what she did. She's not feeling any remorse or guilt for taking an innocent person's life. In fact, she may never realize the full weight of what she's done."

Buffy interrupted. "You're wasting time, Angel. What did you and Faith bet each other?"

"Let's just say that last night at Restfield Cemetery she almost won." Angel paused, letting the meaning of his words sink in. "Faith wanted 48 hours to seduce you. That was the bet. In order for her to win though, and avoid prison, the act must to be reciprocated. If I had known that you—"

"So you're blaming this on _me_?" Buffy interrupted, incredulous.

"Well, if you weren't so eager to spread your legs for her last night we wouldn't be having this conversation right now," he accused, vehemently.

Buffy unleashed a small cry of fury and launched her balled up fist into Angel's chiseled face. He staggered backwards from the weight of the blow and held his face where her fist had struck.

"You hit me," he stated, stunned, but not hurt.

"You hurt me first," Buffy rasped, her voice thick with emotion.

Angel closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. "Buffy… Buffy, I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking making that wager with Faith. You're right. We need to be helping her, not playing games. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for all of this to happen." He spread his hands as a sign of truce. "Come on. Let's go find Faith together, and we can tell her the bet is over. We'll figure out something else – some other way to help her, I promise."

Angel took a step toward the Slayer in order to embrace her, but Buffy held up her hand, stopping his advances. "No, not now. I need some time to figure things out." The blonde closed her eyes, squeezing back the tears. "You stay here. I'll find Faith myself." Her words were quiet, but insistent and strong.

The vampire dropped his arms to his sides in defeat and nodded. Buffy turned to leave the mansion.

"You still my girl?" he called after her quickly exiting form.

Buffy paused in the doorframe at his words.

"I don't know anymore."

The blonde Slayer walked briskly toward the first cemetery of the night, reaching out with her Slayer senses to find the younger girl. As the night wore on, she knew she should be feeling annoyance at Faith's deliberate avoidance, but instead she only worried about what had happened to the dark girl.

The elder Slayer knew she needed to find Faith before the night was over, but she didn't quite know how she should react when she found the other girl. Faith's attraction for the Californian Slayer was no great revelation to Buffy, even if she was a blonde. The younger woman's apparent sexual prowess had always frightened and intimidated the golden-haired Slayer because of her own lack of intimate experience.

Because of her unconventional relationship with Angel, she had limited physical outlets for her sexual frustrations. Buffy had partly convinced herself that what she currently had with Angel was good enough; she tried to believe that sex wasn't everything, sex didn't make a relationship strong. But even the blonde couldn't deny the rush of endorphins she experienced every night after patrolling with the dangerously sexual Slayer.

But what was troubling the blonde Slayer now was not simply the fact that she had finally given in to the lust that slaying seemed to produce within her. A new confusion had been created in light of the previous night's cemetery activities: Was this just a Slayer thing? Had she surrendered to the dark Slayer's physical advances because of the rush from the fight? Or was it something more? Was this a _Faith_ thing?

Buffy took in a sharp breath when she suddenly realized where her strategic wandering had led her. Restfield Cemetery. The place where she and Faith had – the blonde shook her head. No time to think about that yet. She had to find the other Slayer.

The sound of a struggle and smashing concrete alerted the Californian. She turned her brisk walk into a sprint, running toward the conflict. Buffy quickly mused how most Sunnydalers would have run _away_ from the sounds of a fight, especially at this late hour; But time had taught her that she was not "most Sunnydalers." Everyday spent with Faith made her more and more aware that she couldn't continue lying to herself about being a normal girl. She was different – no amount of cheerleading, or dancing at the Bronze, or Homecoming crowns could change that. This is who she was born to be. The Slayer.

Buffy stopped suddenly when she came to the source of the sounds. She gasped in shock and horror at the sight before her.

Faith stood on shaky legs, her back braced against a tombstone as though it was the only thing keeping her standing. The rock-like demon that had escaped the previous night had somehow found the young woman and was now apparently punishing her for the decapitation of its partner.

Her face was bloodied, dark bruises forming already on her pale skin, her eyes swollen shut from the beating she was currently enduring. The creature pulverized the dark Slayer as though tenderizing a choice cut of meat, oblivious to the Slayer-sized threat standing behind it. The monster hit Faith over and over again, striking her face and upper body.

But what surprised Buffy most was that the brunette was doing nothing to fight back, nothing to even block or deflect the sledgehammer-like fists. In fact, her body language looked as though she welcomed the demon's assault.

A manic smile was spread across Faith's bloodied face. She knew there was a good chance that the stony demon from the night prior would return to the cemetery where its monster partner had been killed. Rather than waiting to be picked off by some arrogant vampire who would only boast about killing a Slayer, she had sought out this creature instead, full knowing the pain it was capable of delivering.

As the demon struck her again and again, the pain coursed through the raven-haired Slayer's body like a sweet toxin. Pain was like a dear friend to the Boston girl – something familiar, something that almost gave her comfort.

She knew she deserved this. After all the pain she had endured in her past, after all the hurt that she had caused others. This is how it would all end. She waited patiently for the killing blow, relishing the bruising blows for a final night.

But as quickly as the pain had begun, it suddenly stopped. The brunette opened a swelling eyelid to discover what had delayed her demonic savior. But only a small blonde stood before her now, the rock demon slumped and unmoving on the soft grass.

Faith released a gurgled cry of surprise upon seeing the elder Slayer standing in the place of the stony monster.

"B?" she rasped, the single letter heavy with questions.

And then she passed out, her legs giving up and her beaten body finally collapsing to the cemetery ground.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Buffy choked back the sob she felt threatening to bubble up as she looked down upon the battered body of her sister-Slayer. Faith's face was bruised and swollen, her bottom lip split open and bleeding. Her clothing was tattered and torn, caked in a mixture of blood and mud. But her hands were oddly unscathed, as though she had not used them to fight back or fend off the demon's attack.

The blonde gingerly scooped up the bruised and bloodied form in her small arms and started toward her home. She jogged lightly on her toes so as not to upset the unconscious young woman in her arms, but she needed to return to the safety of her home as quickly as possible. Neither girl was in any condition to fight against the monsters that lurked in every shadow.

The quickened pace failed to tire the Californian although her arms were filled with the taller, heavier Slayer. Instead, she was only acutely aware of Faith's even, steady breathing, which tickled against her bare neck with every step toward Revello Drive. Buffy tried to not think about the woman in her arms as she jogged closer to her house. Tried not to think about the extent of the Boston girl's external and internal injuries. Tried not to think about how seeing Faith battered and bloodied had made her stomach lurch. She bit her bottom lip hard to reign in her tears.

With some struggle, Buffy quietly opened the front door of her home, a mixture of not wanting to disturb the passed-out girl in her arms and also not wanting to wake up and alarm her mother. She set the younger Slayer down at the dining room table, propping her up in a chair. Satisfied that the brunette would not fall from her perch, Buffy silently moved to find the first-aid kit she kept fully stocked in the kitchen.

Upon returning into the dining room, the blonde was greeted with the sounds of quiet groans as Faith began to become lucid from her pain-induced concussion. Buffy crouched down beside the Boston girl and methodically, as if her body was on autopilot, set to the task of attending to the younger woman's injuries. The dark Slayer slipped in and out of consciousness as Buffy carefully cleaned her wounds, wiping the blood, grass, and grime from her cuts.

Faith attempted to swat away the helping hands and turn the other girl away with her disgruntled mumblings. "I'm fine, B. Really. I'm five by five. Just let me go back to my motel." Her voice sounded heavy as though even her tongue was bruised from the fight.

Buffy's tone bordered on pleading while her hazel-green eyes continue to hunt for visible wounds. "Shhh…. Let me do this for you," she commanded, unconsciously repeating Faith's own words from the previous night.

Despite the thrashing she had just experienced at the hands of the rock-like demon, Faith's body tingled with pleasure just from the close proximity to the other Slayer. It was as though Buffy's touch had the power to erase the physical pain from the beating to which she earlier had surrendered. But with each bandage and each gentle swab of cotton, the dark Slayer's emotional turmoil churned in her stomach and burned her throat like heartburn.

She always managed to fuck things up – she couldn't even get killed right. And in a few hours Angel would no doubt show up to smugly escort her to the police station where she would turn herself in for murdering Allan Finch. After all the pain she had endured in her young life, living off the streets when her deadbeat parents failed to step up, Sunnydale brought new meaning to the concept of suffering. Being in this cursed town made the dark Slayer realize all she could have had, if only in a different life: a loving mother, a group of loyal friends. But what did Faith get instead? A rogue Watcher who betrayed her. And falling for an untouchable like Buffy Summers was only salt in the wound. Before she realized it, hot tears were spilling down her face, leaving their own scars on the way to the floor.

"I'm sorry, am I hurting you?" Buffy asked quietly, concern shadowing her face.

"There's so much pain…so much pain. It's too much. It's all too much," Faith rambled as the tears continued to fall.

"I – I need to look at your ribs. They might be broken," Buffy murmured shakily. The elder Slayer had never seen this side of the other girl – she was so vulnerable, so open with emotions that she normally hid from those around her.

The blonde took a deep breath as she unbuttoned the Boston girl's top, her fingers unsure as she stumbled with each button. "_I'm undressing Faith. I'm taking off her clothes. Oh, shut up, Buffy; it's only because she's hurt. Yea, that's it. I'm just checking for wounds. Not being pervy, not gawking. God, am I gawking? Damn it, get it together, Summers."_

Faith sighed when she felt the other Slayer's gentle, yet unsteady touch. Buffy held in a gasp when she reached the final button, exposing the brunette Slayer's defined collarbone, toned stomach, and the delicate black lacy bra that seemed so out of place against her pale skin. She allowed her eyes to drink in the body before her, against the wishes of her brain, screaming at her to stop. Normally Faith would have mocked the blonde's behavior, but in her current situation she could only release a low moan, a mixture of both pain and tortured pleasure.

Buffy continued her physical ministrations, wanting to sooth the dark Slayer's pain, however blind to the depth of her emotional distress. She cleaned the cuts on Faith's face and her arms, grateful for their Slayer healing. She gently wrapped the woman's torso with an ace-bandage to help set the broken ribs. Most of the wounds would be healed over by the morning and the ribs just tender bruises.

Satisfied that she had bandaged the brunette as much as possible, the slight Slayer carefully helped the other woman to her feet. Faith groaned slightly as she tried to stand up straighter. "C'mon," instructed Buffy. "Upstairs."

"Really, B," Faith insisted weakly as the two women began to ascended to the second floor. "I'm fine," she wheezed. "I just – I just need to go back to my motel."

"I'm not letting you out of my sight tonight, so you might as well stop protesting," Buffy murmured lowly, not wanting to wake up her mother who tended to relentlessly worry. "You're staying over and that's it."

Faith leaned heavily on the smaller woman, her body continuing to throb with pain. Every step created a sharp pulse that coursed through her lower limbs and her joints screamed at her to retreat. It seemed to her that with every stair she climbed, two new steps took its place, creating an unending staircase. The two finally reached the second floor and maneuvered silently in the dark toward Buffy's bedroom.

Buffy helped the dark girl lay down on her bed. The Boston girl repositioned herself gingerly, grateful that the aches and pains were already starting to fade to a dull throb. Buffy's voice cut through the silence. "Let me get you something to sleep in." Her words came out with an unexpected huskiness. The blonde walked to her dresser and pulled out a tank top and shorts for the taller woman. She swallowed hard, knowing what she had to do next, surprised by her own nervousness and anxiety.

As she looked over at the dark Slayer, now reclined on her mattress, memories of the previous night flashed through her head. The feeling of cold stone, hard against her back. The scent that was indescribably Faith covering her skin like a blanket. The dark lust that had formed so quickly in the chocolate irises of the raven Slayer's eyes.

A groan from the dark Slayer awoke Buffy back to her task. She helped the younger woman sit up on the bed. With hesitant hands, the blonde pushed Faith's still-unbuttoned shirt off of her shoulders and watched, mesmerized, as the material slid down her toned arms and onto the bed. Buffy's face took on a tortured look as she reached around the lithe woman, briefly fumbling with the bra's enclosure. Faith breathed in, taking in the scent of Buffy's hair – something sweet and slightly flowery. The bra's snap finally surrendered to the blonde's hands and she helped the other woman out of the offending material.

Buffy's stomach flipped upside down, butterflies fluttering out of control. There was so much bare skin exposed and Faith's intense gaze was doing nothing to smother the fire building in elder Slayer's core. Even with her bruises and bandages, the raven-haired Slayer was beautiful. Her pale skin looked inviting and uncharacteristically soft. If anything, the cuts gave her a more vulnerable and primitive appearance that made it hard for the blonde to continue her task.

Buffy tenderly touched a cut that ran the length of the Boston woman's arm from shoulder to forearm. Faith shivered involuntarily at the gentleness of the other woman.

"I keep telling ya not to worry about me, B," the Boston Slayer rasped in hushed tones, her voice raw. "I'll heal."

"I don't know what I'm doing, Faith," Buffy admitted.

The Boston girl looked at the other Slayer who was nearly trembling now. "You did fine," Faith assured her. "Look at me all patched and cleaned up."

Buffy shook her head slowly. "That's not what I mean," she started. "I don't know what I'm _feeling_. I – I just want to touch you."

A wave of desire washed over the brunette and she closed her eyes at its intensity. "I – I need my – my shirt?" stammered the younger woman.

"Not yet," commanded the golden-haired woman. Her voice was small, but insistent.

Faith opened her eyes to see Buffy's hands reaching for the front snap on her leathers. "Oh, god," mumbled the younger woman. She couldn't tear her chocolate-colored eyes away from the sight of the blonde's small, feminine hands, slowly unzipping her tight pants. With some effort, Faith lifted her hips and allowed the elder Slayer to wiggle the material down her long, slender legs.

Buffy's eyes went wide. "You – you – you're not wearing…" stuttered the blonde.

"They're tight pants. I didn't want lines," informed the Boston girl, her normal bravado shaken by the totality of the situation.

Slowly, the blonde leaned in, coming closer to Faith's torso. She placed feather-light kisses first on the dark girl's shoulders, moving next to her exposed collarbone. Faith moaned at the tenderness with which the elder Slayer kissed and licked her skin. Waves of emotion and desire washed over her like the chaotic crashing of ocean waves against a rocky shore. Just hours prior she had surrendered herself to the death blows of a stone demon. Now she surrendered herself to the intimate ministrations of the Chosen One.

Buffy's hands traveled to Faith's lower limbs. She slowly traced invisible patterns on the soft, smooth skin, causing goose bumps to form on the brunette's bare flesh. Her fingers inched impossibly closer and closer to Faith's naked sex. The brunette's eyes dilated even in the darkness of the bedroom as she tried to keep her breathing under control.

Faith hissed when she felt the flaxen-haired Slayer's fingers tentatively stroke against her outer lips. While her chest, face, and arms felt nearly numb from her earlier confrontation with the rock demon, her lower body now felt wildly alive.

"Jesus, B," she groaned quietly, acutely aware that Buffy's mother slept soundly in the next room.

Buffy continued her hesitant exploration of the brunette's sex, as she lightly brushed her fingertips against the shaved skin. Buffy's face was one of total concentration, her features set and determined. Faith swallowed hard and closed her eyes.

The elder Slayer placed her hands on the insides of Faith's thighs. As if suddenly realizing what was happening, the brunette's eyes flashed wide with worry. "B-Buffy," she stammered. "You – you don't have to…" she croaked out. Buffy remained wordless and only gently pushed the dark girl from her seated position, silently encouraging her to rest on her back.

Buffy bit her lip and placed gentle pressure on the insides of Faith's knees, coaxing the brunette to spread her thighs further apart. She hooked her arms underneath the Boston girl's knees and carefully pulled her further down the bed. The blonde kissed the tender flesh of Faith's inner thighs, slowly creeping higher and higher toward her goal.

"Oh fuck," Faith moaned. She bit her bottom lip hard, ignoring the pain from her split lip. She could barely resist pulling on the blonde's hair as she felt the elder Slayer's hesitation fade with every increasingly bold touch.

The smaller Slayer suddenly captured the younger woman's clit between her lips. Faith unleashed a tortured gurgle, wanting to scream out in pleasure. Buffy sucked gently on the sensitive jumble of nerve endings. The scent of the brunette's arousal was intoxicating. She licked harder and deeper, greedily consuming everything the younger Slayer had to offer.

"Oh, god, B. Your tongue. So fucking good," she gasped. It was painful to remain quiet while the blonde's talented tongue explored, but there was no way she wanted to alert Buffy's mom as to the activities taking place in her daughter's bedroom.

Buffy returned her attentions once again to the lithe woman's clit and placed a finger at the entrance of the dark Slayer's core. Gathering up the woman's arousal, Buffy slowly slid a slender digit deep inside the other woman. Faith arched her back at the sensations. Never releasing the bud between her lips, the blonde Slayer began to slowly slide her finger in and out of the younger woman's sex.

"B...uh, yes…god yes…fuck me," urged the Boston Slayer. Encouraged by the shapely woman's moans, the small blonde slid her finger faster and harder into the Boston girl. Faith grasped the bed sheets and finally found a pillow to muffle her screams just in time as an intense orgasm racked her body.

Buffy crawled up the brunette's naked form and wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand, a smug smile on her face. "You are in _so _much trouble," murmured the rogue Slayer. With every ounce of energy she could muster, Faith sat up and rolled the blonde onto her back.

Having seen far more than was necessary, Angel dropped silently from the roof onto the ground. He looked up at Buffy's window once more before disappearing into the shadows. Somewhere in the city, a bell tower rang the new hour. Eleven o'clock.

The early morning sun shone through the delicate curtains and onto the two sleeping Slayers. The women slept peacefully, fatigue having taken over their bodies only a few hours previously. They clung to each other, their naked limbs entangled.

An insistent knocking on Buffy's bedroom door woke the two abruptly. Buffy jerked awake, her arms and legs spasming wildly, nearly knocking Faith out of bed.

"Buffy?" questioned a muffled voice.

"Yes, Mom?" the elder Slayer squeaked, her voice a few octaves higher than normal. Faith's eyes shot wide open at the M-word and her entire body tensed.

"Just making sure everything's okay. I didn't hear you come in last night."

"Everything's fine, Mom," the Slayer insisted through the closed door.

"Is Faith in there, too?" Joyce asked.

Both girls froze, tightening the sheets around their naked torsos. The brunette muttered expletives under her breath, her eyes scanning the room taking stock of their scattered clothes.

"Uh, yeah, Mom…Why?" Buffy clutched the bedding, her knuckles nearly white from the tension.

"Her boots are downstairs in the kitchen." Joyce paused as if considering something. "Do you two want breakfast?"

Faith opened her mouth to respond, but stopped when she felt the smaller woman's sharp elbow jab into her side. She stifled a moan as her ribs were still bruised from the previous night's encounter with the stone-like demon.

"We're fine, Mom," answered the blonde. "Thanks anyway!" she tried cheerily in an attempt to rid them of her mother. Both girls continued to sit rigid, upright in bed, until they finally heard the soft footsteps pad away and creak down the staircase. Finally, Buffy released a manic giggle.

"Shit, B. That was close," remarked the brunette, letting out the breath she had unknowingly been holding. "I mean, your mom is cool and all, but I don't know if she's ready to handle this." Faith motioned at their clothing strewn all over the floor.

"I don't know what you're talking about. She's seen my room _far _messier." Buffy batted her long eyelashes innocently. Faith tackled the woman beside her, pulling her in for another hungry kiss, barely mindful of the tenderness in her ribs. The two ended the kiss and held each other, their naked forms pressed tightly together.

"But ya know, that work out you gave me last night _did _make me wicked hungry." Faith wigged her eyebrows suggestively. "Who woulda thought I'd have a hard time keeping up with Buffy Summers?"

The small Slayer blushed deeply. "We'll get some food soon, I just didn't want this to end so soon," she murmured.

"Who said I was looking for an exit?" the Boston girl asked, propping herself up on her elbows.

"Well, you know…you're always bragging about how you don't stick around after …always get some and get gone."

"But I've never done _this _before," Faith explained while wrapping her arms around the elder Slayer's slender form.

Buffy's eyebrows knit together. "You mean, with another girl?"

"No, I mean – this." The brunette motioned with her hands. "This, sleeping over, cuddling thing in the morning."

The blonde bit her lower lip. "Oh…well, if you need to go…"

Faith tightened her embrace around the woman. "Never said it was a bad thing, B," she murmured huskily.

Buffy snuggled deeper, enjoying the softness of Faith's bare arms around her.

"But if you tell _anyone _I cuddle, you're dead, Slayer," the Boston Slayer teasingly warned.

Buffy smiled cheekily. "Not a word. Scouts honor."

The two lay in bed together in comfortable silence, their bodies entwined. Faith looked down at their enjoined hands and smiled. She didn't want to admit her happiness for fear of jinxing this moment. The silence was broken, however, by the loud growling of Faith's stomach.

Buffy giggled and poked at the Boston girl's stomach. 'C'mon. Let's feed you."

Reluctantly, Faith pulled herself out of bed. Buffy tried to not stare at the naked woman in her room, but it was hard to tear her eyes away from that much toned flesh. Faith stiffly put on the clothes Buffy had unsuccessfully tried to dress her in the prior night. She tried to not wince; her limbs ached and some of her cuts still stung. Buffy noticed the pain written clearly on the brunette's naked body.

"Faith," she started, hesitantly, "what happened last night?"

"Just the best sex of your life, girlfriend," quipped the raven girl as she slid the tank top carefully over her head.

"You know that's not what I meant," chided the blonde Slayer. "Although you won't hear any arguments from me. Last night was a whole lotta wow." Buffy climbed out of bed as well. "In the cemetery though," she pressed. "With that rock demon. What happened? Was it really that strong? I mean, it looked like you - you weren't even fighting back?"

The brunette's face darkened, as if a rain cloud had passed over her features. "Can I get some caffeine first? It's a little early for heart-to-hearts for me."

Buffy nodded, her face twisting into a hurt frown. Pulling on some pajamas, she followed the taller girl glumly down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Buffy fiddled with the coffeemaker, having only ever seen her mother use the machine. Seeing the blonde's distress and uncertainty, Faith stepped in to save the coffee. The elder girl mumbled an excuse about not wanting to stunt her growth, before allowing the Boston girl to make the beverage herself. Buffy hoisted herself up on the countertop and sat swinging her legs, watching the brunette expertly make the coffee in the French press.

"I'm not much of a morning person," explained the dark Slayer. "I barely do afternoons."

"It's okay," smiled the smaller Slayer. "My mom says I don't do mornings either." Buffy handed the younger Slayer a large ceramic mug. "Do you want anything else? I make a mean bowl of cereal."

Faith took the cup and set it down on the countertop. Positioning herself between Buffy's legs, she absent-mindedly trailed her hands from the blonde's knees up to her waist. The brunette sighed as if troubled by a heavy burden. She laid her forehead against Buffy's collarbone and breathed in deeply, cementing the memory of that scent in her mind.

Buffy brushed her fingers through the younger Slayer's untamed tresses. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked. "I'm really not that bad of a cook. I'm sure I could figure out pancakes if I read the instructions."

Finally, Faith shook her head solemnly and looked up. "Last night, B. When you found me, I'd given up."

"Given up? I don't understand."

"I'd given up on _me. _I'd given up on living." Faith stood straighter and stared deep into Buffy's eyes, wanting her to understand. The elder girl remained silent and rubbed the dark Slayer's back as if urging her to continue.

"It's not the first time I've wanted to end it all," she started slowly. "Back in Boston, sometimes I would just sit in my bathtub, wanting the courage to drown. I'd pull the plug, feeling the water drain around me, wishing I could melt away and slip unnoticed into the pipes.

"Or, I'd just stare at the cigarette burning away between my fingers and I'd imagine pushing the embers into my skin. I pictured cutting myself, on my thighs, my inner arms, or merely slicing away at the flesh of my breast. I even thought about becoming anorexic so that I could control at least _one _thing in my fucked up life."

The brunette closed her eyes, remembering. "Maybe someone would finally take notice of the scars and the bruises or how my body seemed to be swallowing itself up. But no one ever did."

"Did – did you ever _do _any of those things?" Buffy asked, not sure if she really wanted to know the answer. There was so much she didn't know about the dark Slayer, partly because she was _afraid _to know. Both women were Slayers, yes; but both had lived such different lives up to now. 

Faith sighed deeply. "Don't worry about me, B. I'm all talk." She leaned in and placed a gentle, somber kiss on the Californian's mouth. "I'm sorry…I don't wanna just spring all of this on ya. My mind is really swimming." She paused, thinking of her next words, and finally shook her head. "Maybe you should impress me with your wicked cereal skills instead."

The two sat at the kitchen island, eating cereal and watching morning cartoons. In between mouthfuls of Sugar Pops, Buffy snuck glances at the dark girl, trying to read her face to gain better purchase on her thoughts. The Boston girl's face showed no emotion, no sadness, but also no youthful glee like she normally did when watching Saturday morning cartoons. Her eyebrows were knit together, clearly deep in thought.

The cartoon was abruptly interrupted by a news bulletin. Sunnydale's Mayor Wilkins appeared on the screen, surrounded by reporters at a press conference. "We still have made no arrests regarding the vicious murder of my dear friend and Deputy Mayor, Allan Finch," he stated into the many microphones at the podium. "The police are working diligently in conjunction with my office to capture the persons responsible for this untimely death. I promise you this, Sunnydale," the Mayor looked straight into the camera. "This loss _will _be avenged."

Buffy turned off the television abruptly and looked quickly over at the seated brunette to gauge her reaction. Faith looked sadly into her bowl of cereal. After a moment, she spoke: "I killed a man, Buffy," she choked out. "And nothing's ever going to change that, nothing's ever going to bring him back." She paused briefly before her next words. "I should be in jail," she uttered, her voice thick with sorrow.

"What! You – no – not – you can't!" cried Buffy, jumping off her stool and onto the linoleum floor. "I know I've been on your case lately about talking to the police, but you can't go to jail now!" Buffy looked flustered. "Why does everyone always leave me?" she ranted. "First Angel loses his soul and now you've suddenly grown a conscience? What's wrong with me?"

Faith set down her spoon calmly and stood up as well. "B – Buffy…there's nothing wrong with you. Last night was – it was amazing. _You're _amazing," she insisted. "You're so god damn fuckin' perfect."

"But I'm _not _perfect! Look at this bed hair!" bellowed the Slayer in protest. "You can't leave me. We only just..." the blonde's words trailed off.

"I know, B." Faith grabbed the elder Slayer's hands in her own. "It seems like we only just found each other. Like we're just getting to know each other."

"I don't want to lose you," Buffy argued, biting back the tears that threatened to fall.

The brunette felt like her heart was breaking in two, looking into Buffy's watery eyes. The last thing she wanted was to make the blonde upset and she certainly didn't want to spend her young life in prison. But, she knew there was something she needed to do before she and Buffy could have the happy ending she wanted. She'd been thinking about it all morning, even as she lay in bed, her body entwined with the Chosen One.

Faith turned away from the blonde and put her cereal bowl in the sink. C'mon, B," she stated. "There's something I want to do with you." The blonde raised an eyebrow. "I thought we'd done everything last night…I didn't realize there was _more._"

The dark Slayer laughed huskily. "Baby, last night was just a _taste_ of what we're capable of. But get your head out of the gutter, Blondie. I'm not talking about bumpin' uglies," she winked.

Buffy blushed at her libido-inspired assumption. "Oh, I thought…when you said…doing something with me...I uh – never mind," she sputtered. "So…what is it?"

"Well, as much as that bowl of cereal you made me was deeply satisfying, I've still got a craving." Faith wetted her lips suggestively. "Give me half an hour and I'll be right back, okay?"

The blonde looked at the taller girl with suspicion. "This isn't just some clever ploy to avoid morning-after awkwardness, is it?"

"Trust me, B." The Boston Slayer embraced the smaller woman. "Nothing's ever felt less awkward and more natural than this right here." She kissed the top of Buffy's head and breathed in deeply, letting herself swim in the shorter Slayer's scent. "I'll be right back. I just gotta get some stuff for your surprise."

"A surprise? Ooooh, I like those. Well, good surprises," Buffy babbled. "Not like surprise! My mom and Giles did it on the hood of a police car, surprise. Oh god, forget I ever mentioned that."

Faith released a low whistle and chuckled. "Gladly. As soon as I burn that mental picture from my brain."

Buffy nuzzled further into the taller woman's embrace, having seemingly forgotten Faith's utterances of jail time just moments before. "Do I have to shower?"

The Boston girl laughed again and wrinkled her nose. "Thank God," she sighed. "I thought you'd never ask. You weren't kidding about that bed-head."

"Hey!" protested the blonde, pulling back.

Faith placed a gentle kiss on the tip of Buffy's upturned nose and gave her a lopsided grin. "Just do as much as you can in half an hour, Princess. I know how you like to get carried away with all that girlie-stuff."

"Well, I _am _a girl, you know." Buffy pouted at the suggestion that she might be high-maintenance.

Faith grinned cheekily. "And don't I know it, baby."

The brunette gathered her things quickly and took off through the front door, but not before one final, lingering kiss. Buffy closed the door and watched through the front window as the dark Slayer strolled down the street. "_She's even sexy in the morning,_" she admired.

Buffy wrapped her arms around herself, hugging herself a little and smiled. Things certainly hadn't turned out the way she thought they would, but after last night and this morning, who was she to complain?

A sharp knock on the door interrupted her happy musings. She threw open the front door, grinning. "I didn't think it would be _that _fast…" she started. Her lips fell silent when she realized her mistake.

"Angel."

The brooding vampire's face showed no emotion from underneath the cloak he held as a protective shield from the early morning sunshine.

The blonde's grin quickly faded.

"_Her scent must be all over me_."

The vampire remained silent and unmoving, despite the threat of daylight.

"Come in," she whispered, moving to one side, allowing Angel into her home.

She closed the door behind them.

TBC

12


	4. Chapter 4

**POV Faith**

Remind me again why I'm still here?

I'm staring at this damn bus ticket in my hand. Sittin' here in this shit-hole of a bus station, trying my damnedest to run away. I bought the ticket, no prob. Told the ragged lady behind the Plexiglas to hook me up with a one-way ticket as far away from this hellhole town as possible.

I won the bet with Angel. Go me. Maybe my methods were a little…unorthodox…but I won. No jail time for this girl. I should be boarding my bus, gettin' the hell outta dodge. So why am I still here?

I pretend like I don't know the reason, but of course I do. Her name starts with the letter "B" and rhymes with "stuffy." And she's the reason why I'm still staring at this damn bus ticket clenched in my hand.

I told her not to worry – told her I'd be right back. Gave her one last long kiss, and I walked outta her house and into the new morning. I didn't plan on coming here to the bus stop. Honest. I really _was _going to just be gone for half an hour and be right back.

But somehow I ended up here at this bus station. It was like my body went on automatic "flight" mode, ya know? I got some. Boy did I _ever _get some. And now my body's telling me to get gone. Pack my bags and run as far and as fast from Sunnydale, California as possible. But the problem is, my body and my heart are in disagreement.

I look up when I hear the announcement crackle over the P.A. system: "Last call for bus number 3-8-9-1." I look down at my ticket and see those same numbers glaring back at me, taunting me and my indecision.

I curse under my breath. Why does my life always have to be so complicated? Why can't I be one of those people who just float through life and everything falls into place like it's supposed to? And I can't even blame it on the fact that I'm a Slayer; It's just that I'm naturally a fuck up. The Calling's got nothing to do with that.

I stand up from this plastic molded chair and feel the heft of my small duffle bag in my hand. It's like the weight of the world is packed away in this tiny suitcase. At least it contains _my _world, that is. I've always run away – never stayed and faced the consequences. So why should I change my pattern now? Yea, yea, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I've heard it all before, believe me.

If I stay, I can't hide from what I did. If I don't get on this bus that's threatening to leave, I've got to make it right. And the thought of that scares the hell outta me. But if I run away again, I know I'll lose her. And losing her means losing my heart. And as hard as I've tried to fight it, as much as I've worked to deny it, this Slayer needs her heart.

Somewhere along the line I fell hard for that little blonde chick. I always knew I was attracted to B. I mean, I _do _have eyes and she's a helluva hottie, ya know? I always wondered what it would be like to have a roll in the hay with the Great Buffy Summers. Even though I knew she was technically with Angel, I still harbored a little hope that maybe one night we might do more than just rub up against each other dancing at the Bronze.

That's how this all started – just lust and curiosity. Plus that millisecond reaction one night in a dark alley when I was too juiced from slaying all day followed by some hot and heavy dancing with B to pay attention to my own instincts. One stake. One beating heart. One giant mistake.

The fucked up thing is, now that I know what it's like to get down and dirty with Buffy, I should be long gone. I should have woken up before her this morning and taken off without so much as a goodbye or a "thanks for saving my life, yeah?" That's more my style; it's served me well these last few years. But when I woke up next to her, with all that golden hair tussled and laid out…damn it if I didn't even care that she was using me as a pillow…and drooling. She was the most goddamn fuckin' beautiful thing I've ever woken up to.

I look at the ticket in my hand and slowly shred it into small pieces. My hands are shaky, my palms a little clammy. I'm at the point of no return. This is for real; this is my future. No more bets and paltry wagers. I control my future now.

"So um…why the unexpected visit? It's kind of early for you, isn't it? Or late? I mean…with the sunshine and all," the blonde girl stumbled on her words as she walked back into the kitchen, with Angel following behind her.

The Slayer's brain screamed inside her head. _What is he doing here? Oh god, he had to have seen Faith leaving here –_

"Kinda early in the morning for Faith to be here too, don't you think?" Angel observed, his voice flat and emotionless.

_He suddenly reads minds now? When did he get _that _superpower?_

Buffy sat down at the kitchen island and idly played with Faith's coffee mug between her palms. "She – uh –"

"Don't lie, Buffy," the dark vampire scowled, not allowing the woman time to think up an explanation. "You're horrible at it."

The small Slayer didn't respond to his accusatory words, but only looked down at the fuzzy slippers on her feet.

_Of all mornings for him to drop by. Oh god, what if he wants to hang out? Faith is gonna be back any minute now…and I'm still in my pajamas. And this bed head! I hope my breath doesn't smell._

"Alright, so you've had your fun," Angel sighed, defeated, flapping his arms at his sides.

_I've got to brush my teeth before she gets back. Especially if there's more Faith smoochies. Wait. Do I want more smoochies? Of course you want more, Buffy. But what does that mean? I go from wanting smoochies from a vampire and now from a girl? A very hot, very sexy, very dangerous girl. But definitely still a girl. Ugh. This is making my head hurt… Is he still talking?_

Angel looked at the seated blonde who looked distracted, lost in her thoughts. "I get it, okay?" he raised his voice, hoping to garner her attention. "I won't go behind your back ever again like that."

Finally Buffy looked up to meet the vampire's brooding gaze as she tried her voice. "What are you –"

"It was the bet," Angel interrupted again. "You did this so she'd win the bet and not have to go to jail. That's all last night was. You really _are_ a selfless martyr, huh? Taking one for the team." His last words came out sharp and bitter, surprising them both.

Buffy could only stare wordlessly at the man she had loved for so long.

_How can he know what happened last night? Unless he followed me to the cemetery after I left him at the mansion. But if he did, why didn't he try to help me save Faith? I had to carry her all the way back to my house. And he did what? Stalked me from the shadows?_

"Listen, I'm sorry that we can't…because of my soul," the vampire started, his tone regaining some of its former composure. "I guess I just never realized how strong your needs were. How – um – unsatisfied you were."

Buffy cocked her head to the side as her brain continued to race. _He looks totally embarrassed to be talking about sex. Normally I would be too, especially talking about it with him. Jeez. I had sex with Faith. In my bedroom. Mr. Gordo must be so traumatized._

Angel suddenly seized the seated woman by her slight shoulders. "Will you at least _say _something?" he bellowed.

"I had sex with Faith," Buffy stated, her eyes wide as she looked into Angel's angry glare.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious. I'm glad we're finally on the same page." Angel turned away with disgust and gazed out the window over the sink, mindful not to step into the direct sunlight.

Buffy blinked hard once as if the brain hamsters were working extra hard on their squeaky wheel. But she still found herself unable to form words or offer up some explanation for her actions the previous night.

Angel clutched the countertop, his head down in defeat. "When this whole business with the Mayor is over, I'm going to leave town. I don't want any drawn-out goodbyes. I'll just go."

Buffy stood up from her seat at the counter at his words. "Leave? Why? We still need you here," she insisted. "Rumor has it there's a Hellmouth under the library." The blonde tried a small smile in Angel's direction.

Angel looked over his shoulder, his eyes full of regret. "You don't need me anymore, Buffy. And I'm only here because of you."

Buffy's expressive eyes narrowed with confusion. "I thought this was all about fighting the good fight – finding your redemption?"

"It was more about a little lost blonde who I thought needed protection," he admitted.

"Angel," Buffy shook her head, "yea, it was nice being with someone as strong as me; I never had to really worry about you getting hurt. But…I've never needed your protection. I'm the Slayer."

She wanted to say more to prove that she would be fine without him – to prove to the vampire and to herself that she didn't really need him. But she stopped herself, however, before unconsciously repeating her final confrontation with Angelus.

"_Now that's everything, huh? No weapons... No friends... No hope," Angelus taunted._

_Buffy closed her eyes and readied herself for whatever was to come._

"_Take all that away... and what's left?" The soulless vampire drew back his sword and thrust it directly at the Slayer's face. But with lightning-fast reflexes she caught the blade between the palms of her hands. _

_She opened her eyes and met his surprised expression with her own steely glare. _

"_Me."_

This is how things always ended. She was always alone in the end. The Powers That Be had brought Angel back – but for what purpose? Certainly not for her to moon over – with the Gypsies curse intact, certainly not to be her boyfriend. And now he was leaving again. But she knew this time, when he left, she wouldn't be alone. This time, she wouldn't run away as well and abandon her mother, her friends, and her responsibilities.

"Listen, Buffy. Whatever you decide with this whole Faith thing, I just hope you're happy." Angel turned and faced the blonde woman, his hands in his pockets, uneasy to be saying the words. "I hope she can make you happy. That's all I've ever wanted for you."

With his speech finished, he wrapped himself in the heavy cloak and exited through the kitchen door, leaving the blonde Slayer alone with her thoughts.

"Looks like someone's planning a fun afternoon," the grocery store clerk remarked as she zipped the items over the price scanner.

Faith merely grunted, her mind elsewhere. The girl was cute enough – tight body, wavy strawberry-blonde hair, and a small button nose – but the brunette was in no mood for small talk. She flipped through her wallet, looking for the hidden twenty she knew she had stashed away. The Boston girl wasn't usually this cavalier with her limited funds to be spending it on something so paltry as groceries, but cash didn't seem to matter at the moment.

The grocer tried again. "I like your pants. Are they real leather?"

Faith looked up to find the blonde smiling at her expectantly. "I didn't realize check-out girls checked out their customers too," the young Slayer said with a dimpled smile.

The grocery girl grinned mischievously, wiggling her eyebrows. "I don't normally, but I might make an exception for you."

Faith clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth as if scolding the other girl for her unexpected advances. "Thanks for the offer. I'm flattered, really…but I uh, got someone waiting on me, ya know?"

"It's okay," the employee shrugged. "The good ones are always taken."

Faith shook her head somberly as she picked up the grocery bags. "Never said I was good."

Buffy raced down the stairs when she heard the thud against the front door. After Angel left and she had noticed how much time had passed, she worried that the brunette had left for good. But harboring hope that the Boston girl would return, she had diligently brushed her teeth, ran a brush through her hair, and changed into more suitable clothes for a Saturday afternoon.

She hesitated briefly before opening the door, silently praying that neither Xander, Giles, or Willow had suddenly decided to surprise her with a visit as well. But upon swinging the door open, she grinned at the sight beyond the threshold: a sexy brunette Slayer struggling to balance three full bags of groceries in her arms.

"You didn't walk all the way here like that, did you?" she smirked, crossing her arms.

"No biggie, B," Faith commented nonchalantly. "Wanted to surprise you, that's all. Plus I _do _have superpowers." The younger Slayer wiggled her eyebrows. "C'mon. I wanna take you someplace. But first you gotta take one of these bags from me. I'm not _that _butch."

Buffy took one of the heavy food bags from the raven-haired Slayer. She felt an urge to hold hands with the other girl, but was thankful for the distraction the grocery bags provided. She didn't want to freak out Faith with such a bold expression of possession. Yet.

"I could drive us, you know?" Buffy offered as she closed the front door and walked out on the front porch with the Boston girl.

Faith looked at her sister-Slayer, her eyes twinkling with laughter. "No offense, B, but I'm kinda digging being alive."

Buffy opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off by the other girl. "Aw, c'mon B. It's an awesome day outside. Let's walk."

The blonde allowed herself to be led through the streets of Sunnydale, her pouting quickly abandoned. The sun was high in the sky by now and a small breeze ruffled through the air. Faith turned into a small grassy park where a few families and older couples were also enjoying the warm afternoon. Without warning, she unceremoniously plopped the grocery bags onto the ground causing one to tip over, half spilling its contents onto the lawn.

"Are you _sure _you're a Slayer?" Buffy lightly mocked, observing the girl as she scrambled to contain a runaway orange. "I thought we were supposed to be more graceful than that?"

"Didn't hear you complaining 'bout my moves last night, Blondie," Faith taunted with a cheeky grin, tossing the fruit back into the bag.

A visible blush crept onto the Californian's bronzed cheeks. Unable to return the jibe, she set her grocery bag down on the ground as well and sat beside it on the grass. "So – uh – groceries in a park?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"Better than that, B." Faith rummaged through one of the bags and awkwardly pulled a fleece blanket from the bottom of the sack. "_Picnic_ in a park."

"Picnic!" squealed the small Slayer, clapping her hands together.

"Jesus, B," Faith winced. "Could your voice get any higher? I think the dogs in town are deaf now too."

Faith laid the soft blanket on the grass and Buffy scrambled to get closer to the brunette and the bags of food. Surprising them both, the elder Slayer planted a small kiss close to the dark girl's ear. The Boston Slayer looked momentarily stunned by the small sign of affection, but quickly turned back to rummaging through the bountiful grocery bags.

Buffy eyeballed the food bags with renewed interest. "What are we having on our picnic?" she asked, her voice filled with youthful exuberance.

"Well, I had wanted to get some wine…really do it up right…but I don't think Joyce would appreciate me getting her daughter drunk in public." Faith winked at the other girl. "So, I – uh – got the next best thing." She pulled a colorful cardboard box out of the bag.

"Orange Capri-Suns? Oh my God, Faith. You're brilliant!" cheered the elder girl. Buffy grabbed the box from Faith's hands and eagerly tore into the container, yanking a single juice box out. "You know why I love these so much, right?" she asked.

Faith smiled, but shook her head.

"Watch carefully as I slay my drink." Buffy removed the cellophane from the hard plastic straw and deftly stabbed the juice container. "Ta-da! Impressive, no?" She took a small sip from the fruity drink, her lips curled into a girlish smile.

"And here I thought you were without skills, B. You sure proved _me _wrong."

"What else, what else?" Buffy demanded.

Faith chuckled softly, shaking her head at the other woman's sudden light-heartedness. It was hard to picture the Chosen One this genuinely happy – she had always seemed so burdened by destiny and duty – except maybe when there was a big shoe sale at the mall. And for just a moment, Faith realized that maybe, just maybe, that happiness was because of her.

But nothing gold can last.

"I wish this day would never end," announced the blonde, popping a grape into her mouth. She stretched lazily on the blanket with a yawn and began tracing idle patterns in a nearby patch of silt.

Faith gazed at the blonde wistfully. Her dark chocolate eyes clouded over and she looked away, distracted. "I guess that's my signal to go then."

"What? Go? Where?" Buffy asked, confusion marring her delicate facial features. When Faith refused to look at her, the blonde followed the trajectory of the dark girl's eyes and found her gaze falling on a brick building across the busy downtown street. The Sunnydale Police Department.

"You tricked me!" Buffy cried, standing up from the picnic blanket suddenly. "You said you weren't going to leave me!" she accused, her voice shaking.

Faith scrambled to her feet as well. "B, I'm not leaving you. I'll –" the Boston girl's words choked her momentarily. "I'll just be some place different.

Buffy looked unconvinced by Faith's words.

"B, don't worry," she tried again. "They'll keep me safe for you. No vampires in prison, right?" the dark Slayer tried to joke.

"But I need you _here, _with _me_. You can't leave me alone," Buffy protested, stomping her foot a little. The golden-haired woman couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She felt the wetness begin to slide down her cheeks.

"Hey…baby, it's okay," Faith soothed, reaching out. "Shhh…Buffy… No crying, okay? You're killing me here." The blonde wiped at her eyes with the back of her hands.

"Buffy, no matter where they send me, I'll never leave you. You'll never be alone." The raven-haired girl pressed her palm lightly against Buffy's chest, feeling the steady thumping of her heart. "I'll always be right here."

Buffy looked up at the taller girl, tears continuing to fall from her thick eyelashes. "But…but you won the bet," whispered the blonde.

Faith's eyes widened at the words and let her hand fall to her side. "What? How did you…" she rasped.

"Angel. He…he told me last night," the elder Slayer stated softly. "Before – before I found you at the cemetery. I think he was worried you'd win, so he told me everything."

"Damn it, Buffy," growled the brunette. "You weren't supposed to know. I…God…I'm such an idiot." The Boston girl began to pace on the lawn. "Why did he – I can't believe he would – You weren't supposed to know. Fuck. What a stupid bet. You must hate me."

Buffy ignored Faith's rant and picked lamely at the hem of her camisole.

"Wait," started the Boston girl again, "if you knew about the bet, why did you….last night?" Faith shook her head "I – I don't understand."

"I don't want to lose you," the blonde repeated, her voice shaky, on the verge of more tears.

Faith grabbed the smaller woman around the waist. "Buffy," she tried again, her voice breaking with desperation. "Why did you… Was it just so I wouldn't lose the bet and have to go to jail?"

The brunette looked truly shaken by the idea that perhaps all that she was feeling and had revealed to the blonde wasn't reciprocated after-all. Faith began to worry that maybe the elder Slayer had been pretending all this time only to keep her out of prison.

Buffy placed a light finger on Faith's pursed lips to silence her worried rant.

"After I talked to Angel last night, he basically called off the bet. Last night – in my room – that didn't happen because I wanted to help you win some ridiculous wager. I – I was just so worried after the whole Finch thing that I was losing you to darkness and nonchalance and recklessness." She paused and wet her lips before continuing her confession.

"And then I saw you in the cemetery, and I almost _did _lose you." Buffy closed her eyes remembering. "I guess last night was a mixture of relief that you weren't dead. And …and my feelings for you that I'm just now starting to sort out."

"Feelings…for me…" Faith repeated quietly, more to herself. "But what about Soul-boy? Is – is he – Are you two still together?" she asked, still clinging to the blonde's waist. "Was last night with me just some sordid affair?"

Buffy sighed sadly. "Angel and I have been dragging out this façade of a relationship over the past few months. We've become business partners who care about each other, fighting together against evil."

The blonde frowned as she admitted aloud the reality of her relationship with the soul-ed vampire. "We're not lovers. And we can't have a happy ending. Angel could live forever, un-aged; and I have a definite expiration date. I don't foresee fat grandchildren and a white picket fence in a future with Angel."

Faith laughed darkly, sarcastically. "And do you see that in afuture with me?"

Buffy looked up at the brunette through her thick eyelashes. "I-I'd like to maybe try? I – I know it's going to be a lot of work, but I – I really do care about you, Faith," responded the smaller woman shyly.

Faith pulled the blonde closer and the two rested their foreheads against each other. Their hands found one another's and their fingers intertwined. They stood like that for a few moments, just being close. Just being.

"So here's the deal, B," Faith started, ending their comfortable silence. "I don't deserve you yet," she croaked, her voice breaking with emotion.

The blonde pulled back slightly and opened her mouth as if to protest, but was cut off by the younger Slayer.

"No, don't stop me. I need to get this out." The Boston girl took a deep breath before continuing, trying not to lose herself as she gazed deep into the watery hazel-green depths of Buffy's expressive eyes.

"B, I don't know if I'll ever convince myself that I could ever deserve to be with someone as good as you. I've had too sordid of a past to measure up." She paused before her next words, weighing them carefully, knowing the vulnerable position they would create for her.

"But if you wait for me…I mean, if you can wait for me until I get out, I think then I'll finally deserve you." Faith looked hard into Buffy's eyes, her own face one of determination. "I've got to find my redemption, Buffy. Only then can I be the person you need – the person you deserve."

_Say something, Buffy! _screamed the blonde's mind. _Tell her not to go. Tell her you need her. Tell her to stay. You can't lose her now! _Buffy willed her brain to work for once – to come up with some reason why the Boston girl shouldn't cross the street towards the Sunnydale police station. Why she shouldn't turn herself in for taking a human life. Why she shouldn't do…what they both knew was right.

"I – I'll wait for you," she finally choked out, the tears falling hard now, blinding her as she tried to blink them away.

Faith tried a brave smile and hugged the small Slayer against her again. She breathed in deeply, just to remember the smell of the smaller woman's hair, her skin, that scent that was indescribably "Buffy." She would need this moment to help sustain her through this next trial of life.

"I love you," she whispered into the blonde's ear.

Then, without waiting for a reply, the Boston girl turned and crossed the street toward the police station. She walked across the street alone. But she left with full confidence that she would never truly be alone again.

FIN

10


End file.
